Different Effects of the Past
by History101
Summary: Sequel to my story 'What Happens in the Past Doesn't Have to Stay There.' Danny and Jazz are left in Vlad's care when their parents are invited to an adults only ghost conference. I don't own any original rights. Contains descriptions of physical abuse and PTSD.
1. Everyone In Between

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 1: Everyone In Between**

* * *

A.N. Now, 'What Happens in the Past Doesn't Have to Stay There' takes place after the episode 'Masters of Time', so right now, in this timeline, Vlad is living in his Wisconsin Castle, he is NOT the mayor and Danny has no ice powers yet which means I get to have some fun with it later on.

Also, from everything I looked up, for my story I put Amity Park around about in the North of Minnesota. Just for reference. Now please enjoy the chapter.

* * *

It was now three weeks since Vlad had first been afflicted with his second bout of ecto-acne and though he was still quite weak he was well enough to be soaring through the Ghost Zone. He'd spent the last week reading and rereading through everything he could find that had a mention of Clockwork the Master of Time in it. Having never met the ghost before he was apprehensive to say the least but now at least he knew everything he could possibly know about him via the written word and the boy thing left was to go hunting for him. He wasn't foolish enough to believe that he could defeat the Master of Time, not after everything he'd learned about Clockwork's powers, but he could at least voice his disapproval.

It took him longer than he would've liked, but eventually, Vlad flew down to the floating tower surrounded by wheels and cogs and he found Clockwork waiting for him.

"I've been expecting you," the Master of Time turned and smiled at Vlad, his appearance changing to his elderly state, "I am Clockwork, Master of Time, but you knew that."

"If that's indeed the case," Vlad began, planting his feet firmly on the ground, not wanting to waster energy floating when he didn't need to. "Then you know what I'm going to say," he frowned.

"I do," Clockwork nodded briefly, "And believe me when I say that I am sorry and that had there been another way to accomplish what was necessary I would have done it."

"I don't want to hear your excuses," the hybrid scoffed, angered further when the ghost only smiled again.

"No, you want to complain, well, you don't need to, I've heard it all before you've even said it."

"Well you can hear it again, and perhaps it will sink in this time," Vlad shot back, "The Behemoth, I assume was your doing as well."

"Of course," Clockwork nodded, "But that's not important, what is important is that you listen to me and start setting aside your grudge against Danny's father."

"I think my grudge is more justified than most," Vlad snarled, "I can't simply set it aside."

"Some some might call it 'fate', that things happened the way they did."

"Fate?!" Vlad yelled, "What possible reason could there be for me to deserve such a 'fate'; to be bitter and alone, the only one of my kind for twenty years?"

"You choose to be alone, just as you always have, the fault lies with you."

"I had no other choice," the hybrid snarled.

"Danny seems to think differently about his own situation."

"He's still a child, I wasn't."

"Yes, and as such, he has much to learn, much he could learn from you, if you would but teach him."

"If you really do know all, then you know that I've offered and he has declined, several times, I might add. What more can I do?" Vlad shrugged.

"You and I both know that the price you ask for your guidance is too high. Danny will never give you what you desire and so it keeps you from the one thing you desire. You know he will never renounce his father or his moral code and I can't help but wonder if it's your jealousy that keeps this vain hope afloat."

"Jealousy?" Vlad raised an eyebrow.

"Danny has the potential to become much more powerful than you; the energy that caused his transformation was much more potent and unpolluted than yours. I believe you've more than once thought about how powerful he could be once he matures. Is that why you ask such a high price, because you don't actually want him to learn from you and surpass you someday?"

"I want more than anything else to teach Daniel," Vlad growled.

"Really?" Clockwork narrowed his eyes, "I'm relieved to hear it.

"Surely you already know that."

"I know you are confused," the Time Master replied, "I know you deeply care for the boy even if you can't explain why you care. You've gotten so used to the idea that your wealth can buy you everything and you've been faced with the opposite. You are an intelligent man and yet your actions over the past few years say anything but."

"I'm also a man who doesn't appreciate criticism."

"I know," Clockwork smiled, "That's why you need it. I had important reasons for doing what I did and I don't expect you to understand them yet, but what you do need to understand is that your actions have consequences. I've seen a hundred different futures for both you and Danny and just know that not all of them are antagonistic."

"What proof do I have of these 'different futures'?"

"You will have to settle for my word, I cannot show you," the Time Master replied.

"How convenient."

"If you continue on your current path, mark my words, you will regret it. Not only will you isolate yourself from Danny, but from the entire world as well."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"It means what it means. There are limits to what I can and cannot tell you; ultimately, the decision to change must be yours alone, there's only so much 'help' I can offer."

"So far you've 'offered' nothing but criticisms to me and insights into my past to Daniel when you have no right to give either."

"I have every right, it is my duty, I am the Master of Time, both human and ghost time...and everyone in between."

"And that gives you the right to display my life like an open book to a group of...of...of teenagers?!" Vlad breathed heavily, his furry surfacing again.

"Yes, it does."

"No, it doesn't! It's my life, not yours, not Daniel's, you have no right show anyone anything! That right is mine alone!"

"So, if I were to offer you the same opportunity...say...a chance to understand Danny's life a little more, what would you say then?" Clockwork asked suddenly with a smile.

"What?"

"You've studied Danny extensively, you know his limits, you know his mind better than he knows it himself and yet you don't understand him as a person, just like he didn't understand you until I did what I did. It seems only fitting that I give you the same chance."

"Don't even think about it!" Vlad exclaimed quickly and the Time ghost tilted his head with a knowing smile. "I understand the boy perfectly well, I don't require your 'opportunity'."

"Is this in deference of his privacy or in regards to your own ego?"

"Don't you know?"

"Humour me."

"You've no right to ask that of me," the man sneered.

"And nor have you any right to treat Danny as you have done, but that doesn't stop you, does it?"

"I am training him."

"Like you were 'trained'?" the ghost replied, making Vlad catch his breath, "You still resent your father for what he did...is that how you want Danny to see you...forever?"

"He...won't learn any other way..." Vlad insisted, looking away

"How do you know?" Clockwork asked gently, "You haven't tried...but it's not to late to do so."

"I'm too old to change."

"No one is ever too old, believe me, I know. You don't need to trust me, Vladimir, you need to trust yourself," Clockwork replied enigmatically.

Vlad scoffed and shook his head in frustration; the conversation wasn't gong as he'd planned and he'd learned nothing. He didn't want to stay in the presence of the Master of Time any longer because the ghost was speaking to him as a superior and to Vlad that was unacceptable. He knew that nothing he said would make Clockwork see things his way and that any further 'discussion' would be a complete waste of time. So without any further thought, Vlad let out an exasperated breath and teleported away, leaving the Master of Time with a knowing smile on his face.

* * *

"...An adults only ghost conference in Indiana?" Danny repeated incredulously. He was sat the the kitchen table, his hand frozen half way up to his mouth with milk and cereal dripping from the spoon he held. Blinking in confusion he dropped the spoon back int the bowl and stared at his parents who were looking very, very excited. Both Maddie and Jack Fenton were all but jumping up and down in uncontrollable joy as Maddie held the invitation in her hand ad they smiled at their two children sat at the table.

Danny and Jazz shared a look of confusion and turned back to their parents, "Erm...who sent this...invitation?" Danny asked them.

"Who cares?! It's adults only!" he laughed, "I'll go pack the Fenton gear!" he cried and went running through the house in joy.

"Don't start without me!" Maddie giggled and ran after him.

"...Y'know..." Danny sighed, "Sometimes I wonder who the adults are supposed to be in this house."

"You're not the only one," his sister smiled kindly back, "But it's not like they go away much - let them have their fun."

"I don't know if it will be fun," Danny shook his head, "What if this is one of Vlad's schemes, I mean, he hasn't done anything in a while so maybe this is his way of saying 'Im still here, and I still plan on making your life miserable.' He's pulled this stupid stunt before, Jazz," he said, "He did this before and then he made the plane crash so me and mom had to stay in his stupid, creepy chalet...it didn't exactly go according to plan."

"I don't know...it's seems a bit..." Jazz shrugged, "Maybe this isn't Vlad," she suggested, "It's not very smart to try the same thing twice after all, if it didn't work the first time."

"I guess, but..." Danny shrugged, unconvinced.

"Just don't remind mom and dad about getting us a..." Jazz began when their parents came crashing back into the room.

"By the way, kids," Maddie began, "You'll need a babysitter."

"I knew it," Jazz moped, "Mom, I'm old enough to look after myself and Danny..."

"I don't need 'looking after'," Danny protested, "...And what about all the ghost equipment here? It scares away the mailman let alone a babysitter!"

"He's got a point," Jack said to his wife.

"Well, we can't leave them on their own, Jack," Maddie replied.

"I've got it!" he grinned, snapping his fingers in a eureka moment, "They can stay with Vladdie!"

"What?!" Danny and Jazz exclaimed simultaneously.

"We will have to drive past Wisconsin anyway...it won't be too far out of our way," Maddie mulled over the idea.

"Why can't we just stay with Sam or Tucker?" Danny asked quickly.

"One of you maybe, but not both of you; we've got enough trouble with the neighbours without asking for favours," his mother answered quickly.

"If you had some friends you could've stayed with them," Danny muttered to his sister who scowled back.

"I'll call Vladdie!" Jack grinned, running off again and Maddie followed.

"Just great," Danny pushed away his long forgotten bowl of cereal and flopped down onto the table, "I'm going to stay with my arch enemy...just great."

"I thought things weren't so bad now," Jazz said.

"Well, he hasn't tried any stupid stunts like I said, unless this is one of 'em, but that doesn't mean that everything's okay."

"And mom and dad still don't know that we know that he's our go..."

"Don't say it!" Danny quickly stopped her.

"Why not?"

"Because," he muttered.

"Because what?"

"Just because, Jazz, that's why."

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again; I think you should've asked them about it."

"Oh really, and how would I explain how we found out? Should I tell them that a ghost told me?!" Danny scoffed, "That'd go down really well, what a good idea, genius."

"Well, it's better than ignoring it, it's not a problem that's going to just go away if you ignore it for the rest of your life."

"I won't ignore it for the rest of **my** life...I'll just ignore it for the rest of **his** life," her brother mumbled pedantically.

"Danny," she sighed, "I know you care about this, just like I know that you kept that pocket watch he gave you."

"How'd you know that?"

"I know where you hide it too," Jazz grinned.

"How?!"

"I'm supposed to know these things, I'm your sister," she answered.

"You've been snooping in my room again, haven't you?" Danny asked flatly.

"Danny!" Jack yelled out and Danny sighed as he walked through into the sitting room where his father handed him the phone, "Vladdie wants to talk to you."

"Erm...hi..." Danny said, after he took the phone and before he could get in another syllable, Vlad spoke up.

"Daniel - finally some sanity - what took you so long?" Vlad demanded and Danny frowned.

"Huh?" the boy blinked in confusion.

"Your father has been blathering on about a new stupid invention or other without any explanation for five very long minutes and if you don't tell me what's going on, I'll..."

"...He didn't mention the conference then?" Danny asked slowly.

"No," Vlad answered curtly.

"The conference in Indiana?"

"No."

"Oh..." Danny sighed, "...This is awkward..."

"Explain," Vlad ordered.

"See...there's a conference in Indiana..."

"I gathered."

"...And mom and dad are going...and dad says...we - me and Jazz, are supposed to stay with you," Danny explained quickly, "It wasn't my idea, okay, so don't go crazy or anything, I said I'd stay with my friends, but because Jazz doesn't have any friends, mom said...Jazz! Knock it off!" he broke off when Jazz threw a cushion at him. "Sorry," he turned his attention back to Vlad, "Mom said because they'd be driving through Wisconsin it be easy for us to stay with you, and she didn't want to ask the neighbours for any favours since they don't get along anyway, and dad said he'd tell you about it but he must've got distracted so...erm...that's it..."

"I see," Vlad said.

"Look...you didn't plan this, did you?" Danny sighed, "Because I remember that last time you..."

"No," Vlad rolled his eyes, interrupting Danny, "In fact I was planning on going to the conference myself, but when I heard that your parents were invited I...naturally changed my mind."

"You mean when you heard dad was going."

"...Yes, that."

"And you knew about the conference before I even said anything?"

"Yes."

"So you didn't really need me to explain anything?"

"Not really, no," Vlad chuckled.

"Not funny."

"Very funny," the older hybrid corrected, "The thought that I can terrify you even over the telephone is a very reassuring one."

"Fruitloop," Danny muttered, "I wasn't scared," he mumbled after.

"Of course not."

"I don't care whether you let us stay or not, I'd rather stay at Skulker's, and that's saying something," the young hybrid shot back angrily. "In fact, I'd rather fight the Ghost King with both my arms tied behind my back..."

"In that case, I'd be delighted to let you and your sister stay at my castle," Vlad replied cheerfully.

"...You do realise how warped that whole statement was after what I just said...right?"

"Naturally."

"Argh!" Danny gritted his teeth, "You're such a fruitloop!"

"You've said that so many times, Daniel, it's lost all meaning," Vlad deadpanned.

"Then I'll just come up with some new insults."

"I would advise you to use your head this time round, but I wouldn't want my favourite godson to give himself an aneurism."

"Say what?!" Danny yelled, "Now see here, you no good, lying, stupid..."

"Danny..." Jazz coughed lightly, cutting off her younger brother before their parents could hear as they walked into the room.

"Sorry, mom, looks like we'll be staying home after all, Vlad doesn't want us there," Danny said quickly.

"I said nothing of the kind," Vlad replied, but of course no one else heard.

"That doesn't sound like Vladdie," Jack scratched his head and marched over to take the phone from his son.

"No, dad, don't..." Danny protested and was ignored.

"Vladdie, Danny says..."

"I heard what he said, Jack, it was just a small misunderstanding, I told him that the children of my friend are always welcome at my home," Vlad told him and Jack beamed.

"There, see Danny, no worries, Vladdie says he'd love you to stay over," the large man in orange smiled.

"But I..." Danny began.

"Thanks, V-man," Jack smiled, "We'll see you soon," he said, putting down the phone.

"...Oh, nuts," the young hybrid muttered to himself and he was sure that Vlad was laughing over in Wisconsin; laughing at him.


	2. A Sleepless Night

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 2: A Sleepless Night**

* * *

Danny was most decidedly not a happy hybrid. Not only was he crammed in the back of the Fenton RV with his sister and all of their luggage with their parents luggage as well, he was going to spend two whole weeks in the same castle as his arch enemy. He couldn't understand why his parents wanted to drag a five day conference out for fourteen days and it only made it easier for them to go because their children were off school. It was all too convenient for Danny's liking; of course the idea that the organisers of the event planned the conference specifically around the school holidays never really crossed the paranoid young hybrid's mind like it did Jazz's.

For hours on end he tried everything to block out his parents' loud conversations about what they were going to do once they arrived at the conference, about the people they were meeting up with, about which ghost they'd rather dissect, about which ghost hunting weapon was the best and about a thousand other things. He tried listening to loud music he tried playing video games he even tried talking even louder than them with Jazz but it all went over his parents' heads. Danny thought he'd go mad but he knew the only reason his temper was so short was because he knew where this RV ride would end. He didn't know which was worse; being squashed in the back of the RV for hours on end like a sardine, or spending a fortnight in Vlad's castle.

"Danny, you okay?" Jazz asked him, concerned.

"For the millionth time, yes, I'm fine," Danny snapped and instantly regretted it, "Sorry...I just think this is a really bad idea," he said quietly.

"I know, but it might all be for the best."

"...Maybe..." he sighed, "Or maybe it'll make things ten times worse..."

"You want to make it work though, don't you?"

"I...I guess...I mean, I...I know I can't ignore everything, but it's just..."

"All you can do is try, you have more to go on now," Jazz replied.

"Yeah," Danny breathed, "Just don't keep talking psychology stuff at me flr two whole weeks," he told her dryly.

"Only when you need it," she smiled.

"Whatever," her younger brother rolled his eyes.

* * *

As the Fenton RV neared the castle with each passing minute, Vlad himself was stood leaning over a dozen computer screens and laptops in his underground lab with a pensive furrow in his brow. His illness had more or less dissipated but Vlad found that it was still difficult to concentrate on his work for long periods of time before he needed to rest and it irked him to no end.

For over a week he'd been attempting to work and create new, complex formulae for one specific purpose; cloning. It was something that he'd kept on a back burner for a while now and he didn't want to run any tests until he had everything accounted for. But because of the Behemoth that he'd had to fight last week and more recently, his extended hunt for Clockwork in the Ghost Zone, Vlad was left with very energy with which to pursue his task. What he couldn't understand was why he was feeling a nagging doubt in his mind seeming to say that it was a bad idea. Was it his conscience? Vlad doubted it, he hadn't listened to his moral conscience in many a year and he couldn't see why it would resurface now. Hadn't he said before that he was too old, too set in his ways to change? And yet, here was that nagging voice making itself known after so many years; it just didn't make any sense.

There were many things that didn't make any sense to him, some of the more pressing matters were ones that had taken place only a week ago. Why, for example had he not more fervently denied his place as Daniel's godfather when the child had discovered the secret? Why had he given Daniel his father's pocket watch so easily? And why had he so quickly told the boy one of his most puzzling secrets; that he, Vlad Masters, had more or less, made Daniel Fenton the heir to his fortune with no strings attached? He knew, of course, why he'd written it into his will in the first place, but he didn't - couldn't - understand why he'd told the boy about it. Daniel would never have found out if only he'd kept quiet.

With an angry snarl he shut down the computers and the formulae disappeared. He knew that he couldn't allow Danny and his sister into the lab during their stay but they knew where it was which made it rather difficult. Until that is, one took into account that Vlad had designed a new security system to keep out both ghosts and humans and he intended to use it for the fortnight ahead. Although, part of him knew that there was little cause for concern; neither of the Fenton children would understand the scientific equations if given a hundred thousands years because they'd not had the proper training. The Fenton adults, even Maddie, would have a hard time of understanding his formulae and they certainly hadn't tried to teach their children how to do so.

On the periphery of his senses, Vlad could feel Danny's ecto-signature nearing his castle although something about it didn't seem quite right. He'd come to recognise the boy's essence, if he had to put it into words, as a small green light, almost like a flickering candle flame; small and insignificant but capable of growing rapidly. He hadn't noticed anything amiss the last time he'd seen the younger hybrid, but Vlad had been rather occupied with other things at the time. This time it was different, something about it was very different indeed and it was slightly disconcerting that he couldn't explain what or why. A ghost's individual signature wasn't supposed to change but Vlad supposed that because Danny was still young, it couldn't be helped. Still, he'd keep a close eye on the boy just to be sure.

Vlad left the lab, making sure to switch on his security system, and he made his way to the kitchen where the staff he hired from the city on occasion, were busy preparing the best food that money could buy for him and his guests. Though he knew almost everything about Daniel, from the limits of his ghost powers to his favourite foods, the older hybrid was fully aware that the following fortnight was going to be very interesting.

He wasn't sure when to expect their arrival but it was always best to be prepared when one had two teenagers coming to stay. Knowing Jack it wouldn't be at a respectable hour when they finally arrived. The man would be far too 'excited' about the ghost conference and he'd drive none stop to get there. One thing Vlad regretted was that, despite everything; he knew Jack and Maddie very well.

* * *

As Vlad predicted, Jack and Maddie were very eager to get to Indiana as soon as possible so instead of stopping to rest, they took turns driving so that they would reach the castle more quickly. Danny, naturally, was against the idea but nothing he said would dissuade his parents. He was beginning to think he was invisible - until he actually looked at his hand and saw that he wasn't. Sometimes it irritated the young hybrid when he was forced to admit that his parents just didn't listen to him. Their idea of dealing with a problem was either by locking it in the Fenton Stockades or putting it on a big spinning table and, on occasion, it made Danny want to yell and scream and pull out his hair in frustration. He knew it was partly his fault that they didn't listen to him; he had been lying to them for over a year and his grades were in the toilet, as far as they knew, for no reason. All they knew was that he had become a troublesome teenager who constantly missed curfew and didn't talk to them so he tried not to voice just how annoying it was when they didn't listen to him.

They passed several manor houses and as the sky grew darker they drove through nothing but unused forests and fields for miles, all of which, Danny wouldn't be surprised to hear, belonged to Vlad. So, with no speed limit to curb Jack's driving on private property, the scenery passed by very quickly and it even started to make Danny queasy.

"We're here!" Jack Fenton exclaimed rather redundantly as he pulled the RV to an abrupt stop outside the castle.

"Great," Danny mumbled with a sigh.

Jazz gave him a sympathetic glance before she clambered out with stiff muscles and let out a relieved breath, simply glad to have room to move now. She wasn't as reluctant to spend a fortnight in a castle, having stayed there before she knew it was more than comfortable and her only reservation about it was how difficult it was going to be for Danny. Vlad would pretty much leave her alone if she stayed out of his way, but not her brother.

There was plenty of light coming from the castle to illuminate the driveway and Jack practically flew up the steps to knock on the large, wooden doors.

"Ah, Jack," Vlad's smug tone sounded out after he'd opened the door, "Predictable as ever," the man said. This, of course, went straight over Jack's head as Vlad continued, "Won't you come in?" he asked, as though it was a horrible idea.

"Aww, thanks V-man, but we're on a schedule," Jack grinned.

"What a shame," Vlad replied emotionlessly as he brushed none existent dust from his shoulder, "Ah well, don't let me keep you."

"I would've thought you'd enjoy this conference as well, Vlad," Maddie spoke.

"Maddie, you know I'm retired from that...subject," the billionaire replied and Danny scoffed quietly.

"Ah, shucks, Vladdie, you were the best, I bet you still knew a thing or two..." Jack said, "You could still come with us."

"But then, who would care for the children?" Vlad turned back to him.

"...Good point," Jack frowned.

"I thought so," the white haired man breathed, "What about your schedule?" he asked when his 'friend' showed no signs of leaving.

"Oh, rights, thanks, V-man!" Jack grinned.

"Thanks for doing this, Vlad," Maddie said as Jack excitedly dragged her back to the RV."Bye kids," she smiled, "Be good," she added as Jack started the engine.

"See you, Vladdie!" the man in orange grinned as they drove off.

"...There goes my freedom," Danny grumbled, pulling his bag over his shoulder and picking up his small suitcase.

"Always so melodramatic, Daniel," Vlad smirked, holding the door with his hand, gesturing for them to go inside.

"Okay, stop right there, Plasmius," Danny sighed quickly, "I've been crammed in the back of the RV all day, I'm so not in the mood to deal with you and your stupid games."

"A little tetchy, are we?" Vlad raised an eyebrow.

"Grrr," Danny grumbled, his eyes glowing green for a split second.

"Why didn't you stop at a hotel?" the man asked, knowing the answer. He only wanted to annoy the boy.

"Why do you think?" Danny snapped back as he and his sister trudged through into the foyer with their cases.

"It's good to know that Jack's attitude grates on you sometimes too."

"It doesn't," the boy replied quickly.

"Of course," Vlad scoffed.

"Look," Jazz began in a calming tone, "We're both tired, can we just leave this until tomorrow?"

The older hybrid blinked for a moment in shock, but he shrugged it off quickly, "Follow me," he ordered, walking off.

He lead them, in silence, through the elegantly redecorated corridors, all lined with panelled wood from the floor up and the original stone visible from the top half. But to a very tired Danny, this grandeur wasn't even noticed. It wasn't long before Vlad pushed open the doors to two rooms, both side by side and both examples of the finest suites in the entire castle.

"Good night," Vlad said before teleporting away, leaving Danny and Jazz alone.

"...That was...pretty painless...kinda..." Danny frowned as he followed his sister into one of the rooms.

"Wow," Jazz blinked, stopping the doorway, "This is different from last time," she said.

Like the ground floor rooms of the castle, it seemed that that bedrooms too have been redecorated. The walls were a mix of stone and white wash which contrasted with the dark wood of the door, the four poster bed with its deep red curtains and the antique desk. Further into the room there was a large fireplace built into the wall with chairs and a sofa set around it, a wall of books to one side and a large, flat screen television to the other.

The two siblings sat up for an hour in the same room before Danny left for his own, hoping he'd be able to sleep.

* * *

A while later, Danny was forced to admit that he couldn't sleep at all. Not only was it late, he was tired and it had been hours since his ghost sense had warned him of any danger - and that had been long before they'd crossed the state line into Wisconsin. He couldn't deny that his bed was quite possibly the most comfortable one in the entire world but the mere thought that Vlad was sleeping under the same roof, albeit a very large roof, was enough to keep Danny awake for the entire fortnight ahead.

He threw off the quilt in frustration, wasted several more minutes tapping his fingers rhythmically on the mattress then he hauled himself from it with a deely irritated sigh. Danny knelt down by the bed and pulled his suitcase out from under it, then, with an intangible hand he reached through into it and under the clothes and miscellaneous things he'd left inside, he pulled put a small wooden box. For some reason, since he'd been given it a week ago, he couldn't seem to want to let it out of his sight even to the point where he'd brought it with him for only a two week trip away from home.

In his room at home, Danny had been hiding it under the floorboards; it wasn't the most high tech form of security but he couldn't afford to buy anything to hide it in and standard equipment would be useless against his own or anyone else's ghost powers, so there wasn't much point. It was times like this that Danny wished he was smarter so that he could make his own inventions.

To Danny, the shiny pocket watch seemed to represent everything that was, or could be good inside Vlad. Tucker had actually researched it and they'd found out that, if the self proclaimed techno-geek was correct, that it was worth around $5,000 if not more and the concept of owning something so valuable had come as a great shock to Danny. But he didn't want to sell it, he didn't think he could, although he didn't know where he'd ever go to actually use a pocket watch, Danny wanted to keep it because it was Vlad that had given it to him. Vlad had put thought and effort into getting him something meaningful, intended for his sixteenth birthday. He wasn't sure whether or not his mother or father had any family traditions like this one but when a person who was technically not a relative wanted to give you something that was clearly important to them then it was a very humbling thought.

Other than keeping it safe and hidden, Danny didn't know what else to do. Vlad hadn't mentioned it or the 'trip' into the past and it was likely that he never would, unless Danny chose to do so. In fact, Danny wouldn't be surprised if Vlad quickly went back to his old ways and started scheming and plotting again to save talking about it.

Without paying much attention, Danny flew through into his sister's room, still clutching the watch and be noticed that the room was, like his, in total darkness, clearly Jazz was trying to sleep, if not already asleep. But this didn't seem to register in Danny's mind.

"Jazz...Jazz...you awake?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Mmm...I am now..." his sister mumbled, slowly turning over and blinking her eyes open.

"Sorry," he muttered sheepishly, "...Couldn't sleep."

"Mmmm..." Jazz sighed, leaning back against the headboard, "What's wrong?" she asked and Danny stared at her. "...Right...yeah, sorry..." she muttered slowly in realisation.

"...I'm...just worried, Jazz...I don't know what to do and I can't sleep because I can't stop thinking."

"You can't do anything about it now but in the morning I think you should talk to Vlad without getting into a fight. You need to find out whether or not you want to change anything," Jazz told her brother, yawning tiredly. "I know you don't want to admit it, but you do feel sorry for him; for how he grew up."

"Yeah...but it's not like he wants any pity," Danny shook his head.

"...You remember when you and Vlad were talking...about the ecto-acne, and he said he made it seem like Tucker and Sam were dying when they really weren't..."

"He could've given the real thing, he could've been lying."

"I don't think he was," she insisted, "I think he was telling the truth. I think he's gotten so used to being alone and being 'the bad guy' that he's forgotten how to be anything else. I think it's sad."

"Yeah, maybe it is, but it doesn't change everything he's done."

"I know, Danny, but maybe you have to move past that and give him a chance to change otherwise who knows what'll happen."

"Who says he wants change?" Danny scoffed, "You know what he's like, I don't think anything I say'll make any difference."

"You can still try," Jazz told him, "Now please...I'm really tired, I know you're worried, but you need to sleep just as much as I do, staying up all night won't make it any easier."

"...Yeah...I know," he sighed, looking down at the pocket watch in his hand.

"...You brought it with you?" his sister questioned, glancing at it in he light from Danny's ghostly green eyes.

"...Night, Jazz," Danny simply said and flew back into his room to sleep.

* * *

A.N. Now, anyone who's read a lot of my stories will probably notice that I tend to ignore Danielle altogether. It's partly because I think the idea of Vlad going through with the cloning stuff is really creepy, but also, I like the idea of him and Danny being the only hybrids so instead of Danny being able to bond with Dani over a common enemy, he's left with Vlad as the only other one of his kind to understand him.

I've not read any complaints before but I'd like to know what people think, do you agree with me or are you a Dani fan? That being said, I won't be including her in this story, like all my others - I'm just curious.


	3. Something Amiss

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 3: Something Amiss**

* * *

Into the early hours of the morning, when even Danny had managed to fall asleep, Vlad was sitting in his lab pouring over his equations for ghost / human cloning. The secret he needed to make the complex formulae work still continued to elude him and his concentration wasn't at its best. Having seen Danny for only a few short minutes before he'd shown both children to their rooms for the night, Vlad was sure that he had been right; there was something very off with young Danny's ecto-signature, but because he hadn't 'gone ghost' yet, Vlad had yet to assess the extent of the damage. He wasn't sure how best to go about the subject. If he outright asked the boy then he'd have to explain everything about it since Danny knew next to nothing about the specifics of ghost powers and it would be very time consuming, if he was believed at all. Whereas if Vlad keep it secret he'd have to wait until Danny morphed into his ghost half and he didn't know when that would be.

There could be a very simple explanation to what he was sensing and that could be that Danny was simply maturing but Vlad didn't want to take any chances. He hadn't been able to observe his own ecto-signature change when he'd been young because he'd been more or less, ignorant of his altered hybrid physiology so he didn't know what to expect. It was only as he'd become increasingly wealthy that he'd begun to monitor his powers with any accuracy and by then he'd matured as much as he was going to; Vlad's ecto-signature was fully formed and wasn't going to change or evolve an further, but Danny's still could and probably would.

Setting aside the equations, Vlad pulled up another screen which showed the presence of three ghosts in the whole castle - himself, Daniel and the Dairy King who generally kept to himself and stayed out if the way from Vlad and his staff. His security system was state of the art, because Vlad had designed and built it himself a few months ago, he knew it was trustworthy. The blip that showed his own powers, even in his human form, was clearly very stable and it was the largest of the three showing that he was the most powerful. The Dairy King's power wasn't worth mentioning while Danny's were very curious indeed. The small green dot was flickering curiously on the monitor and Vlad didn't know why. Using the security cameras, which were installed secretly in every room, Vlad learned that Danny was actually sleeping so it wasn't because the boy was overtaxing his powers. There genuinely was something amiss and all of his technological gadgetry and intellect couldn't explain why.

"What's wrong with you, Daniel?" he breathed quietly. Like many people who lived alone for much of their lives, Vlad, without thinking, tended to voice his thoughts aloud and he didn't even realise it half of the time and, as usual, hours and minutes passed him by in lonely silence.

* * *

Shortly after sunrise, Danny was sleeping peacefully until there was a relentless knocking at his door that refused to go away. At first, the young hybrid thought that it was a ghost, as long habit had taught him that ghosts generally liked to disturb him when he wanted to sleep. But when his ghost sense failed to alert him to any danger, he slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head from the pillow.

"...Hmmm..." Danny breathed, "Yeah?" he called out, rubbing his eyes as he heard the door open.

A young woman entered the room, she was dressed smartly all in black and looked as thou she was used to being awake first thing in the morning, unlike Danny who was yawning. "...Who're you?" he asked, tiredly.

"I'm Amelia, your wake up call," she answered happily.

"It's like...seven o'clock," Danny moaned when he saw the bedside clock.

"Mr Masters is waiting for you in the dining room," Amelia told him.

"...Now?" Danny asked incredulously.

"Yes," she smiled, trying not to laugh, "He said if you don't come down you won't get any food for the rest of the day."

"Jerk," he muttered, "Not you," he added quickly, "...And you can tell him I said that."

"On your head be it," she shrugged with a laugh, "Anyway, you've got fifteen minutes."

"Argh!" Danny sighed, "Fine, tell his highness I'm coming," he said and she nodded before leaving the room.

Muttering obscenities about Vlad the entire time, Danny stumbled to the en suite bathroom and made sure to slam things around as though getting back at the older hybrid by making a lot of noise. It was childish, but he was a child so he didn't care.

Having never actually been in the 'dining room' Danny had little idea of where it was but luckily Vlad employed a lot of people so they were able to direct him. He didn't think that one man needed so many people looking after his home, but this was a castle and Vlad liked flaunting his wealth even when there was no one around to see it. Danny passed a lot of people cleaning which was no doubt a monumental task in a place this size and probably took up most of their time. He didn't envy them their work but they didn't seem unhappy, none of them were muttering under their breath like him that was for sure.

He soon found that the dining room was just as grand and ostentatious as the rest of the castle with a wooden floor and red curtains. The dark wooden table was long and set for only three people with an abundance of crockery and cutlery that Danny only expected to find in a five star hotel, he didn't think people actually used set ups like this for the every day. The fireplace was huge and there were unlit candles scattered around the room. It was a very light space with a white ceiling covered in intricately carved, dark wood paneling and the large windows letting in the morning sun.

"Good morning, Daniel, did you sleep well?" Vlad asked sometime during Danny's observation of the room.

"Erm...fine...I guess..." Danny blinked. He noticed now that he was still standing in the doorway, that he'd been too much in awe of the room and now he was further stunned by Vlad's question. His insults had been long forgotten in his shock and at being asked something so ordinary by his enemy.

Vlad was sat at the head of the table and for the first time now, Danny saw that Jazz was of course already awake and sitting at Vlad left hand side. She probably hadn't even needed the 'wake up call' and if he had to guess, he'd say that she'd been in the library or something and she seemed to have already gotten over the shock of their surroundings as she glanced across at him. She had stayed here once before so Danny supposed she was as used to it as she was going to get. Even when they'd stayed for the reunion hadn't had this effect on him, probably because, back then, the castle had only been decorated with gaudy green and gold.

As Danny sat down, reluctantly on Vlad's right hand side - the only other place to have been set with plates, a man dressed smartly in black with a white apron, set a plate of food down for him and he had to admit that it was the best breakfast he'd ever seen. The plate was filled with perfectly cooked eggs, bacon, sausages, beans and hash browns with toast on the side. He could set aside his awkwardness for a moment to dig into the food without much restraint since he didn't normally get given such a meal. If Danny had his way he'd eat this every day but he never got the time to do so, he was lucky to get a piece of toast before school because he tended to get up late due to fighting ghosts.

He heard Vlad cough lightly as though trying to remind him of his table manners but Danny ignored him, it was the only way he could sit there and not want to hide away, buried under a mountain of awkwardness.

"Daniel," Vlad scowled a second later but was again, ignored.

"If that's all sir?" the man asked, sensing the tension, and Vlad nodded.

"Yes, that's all," he said and the man left without Danny even learning his name.

Once the door clicked firmly shut, Vlad set down his cutlery and sighed, "I can see I'm going to have to teach you some table manners," he said, "You really are just as bad as your father. At least Jasmine has some restraint."

"Jazz isn't sitting at the same table as her arch enemy," Danny grumbled, swallowing his food and them letting out a deep sigh. "Okay, this is just weird," he exclaimed, "What's going on? What are you up to? Who are you and where's the real Plasmius?"

Vlad raised an eyebrow and stared at Danny in a mix of amusement and exasperation. He'd expected this kind of reaction from the boy and in truth it was somewhat entertaining, but he knew that they would probably end up coming to blows and that thought made him tired before they'd even begun to fight. "There is nothing 'going on', I am not 'up to' anything except trying to eat my breakfast," he said to Danny.

"Sure, 'cos you eat breakfast with your enemy all the time, it's totally normal," Danny snorted.

"I do wish you'd drop your ridiculous notions of 'enemies', Daniel, it really is very childish," Vlad sighed, picking up his glass.

"Says the man who's been holding a grudge for over twenty years," the young half ghost muttered.

"Danny," Jazz hissed, meeting her brother's eyes, trying to silently dissuade him from continuing, forgetting that Vlad would hear her warning.

"What?!" Danny ground out, glaring back at Jazz in frustration.

Vlad himself remained silent and he set down his glass without even having drank from it. He slowly turned his attention to Danny and he gave a rueful smile. "You're right," he said , "You're right, of course."

"...I'm...huh?" Danny blinked, sharing a look with his equally stunned sister.

"But I've told you before...I have my reasons."

"Yeah, and I have my reasons why we're 'enemies'," the boy retaliated, "All of them - your fault."

"Why do you still hate our dad?" Jazz asked with a curious calmness, "You don't hate your ghost powers and you know that it was an accident. From what Clockwork showed us you didn't leave the hospital wanting to hurt him; you didn't like him, but you didn't want to kill him. There's a big difference."

"Quite correct," Vlad said, "But it's a little early for any introspection," he added.

"So, if I asked you late at night, you'd answer me?" she frowned.

"Probably not."

"Then you may as well just say you don't want to talk about it," Danny murmured.

"I don't want to talk about it; everyone has secrets they'd rather keep to themselves. You two more than most should understand that," Vlad told them, "Now, both of you, eat your breakfast."

"You can't tell me what to do," the young hybrid grumbled back despite the fact that he'd already eaten about half of his food.

"For the next two weeks, I can," the man narrowed his eyes, "And I expect you to listen."

"Huh," Danny couldn't help but scoff, "Yeah, right."

It was only a minute later that he saw he was the only one with a fry up breakfast; his sister was eating what looked like her favourite healthy porridge and Vlad had something entirely different that looked very fancy and there was fruit on the table as well. So Vlad knew their favourite breakfast foods, that was creepy, but when wasn't Vlad being creepy - he did spy on them after all.

"And I expect you to he on your best behaviour..."

"Not gonna happen," Danny mumbled. The strangeness of sitting at the table eating breakfast with Vlad combined with the man's sudden attitude change and everything else he'd learned about the older hybrid, Danny was confused. He wanted things to change but he wasn't sure how he wanted them to or how go about changing them.

"Daniel..." Vlad began.

"Just cut it out! I don't even want to be here, I just want you to leave me alone!" Danny yelled, his anger getting the better of him.

His voice echoed around the room several times and almost the moment he'd spoken, Danny regretted it. After everything Clockwork had shown him, after all the times he'd told himself that he was supposed to be the forgiving one, to go and take out his confusion and his anger out on Vlad, who'd, as yet done nothing against him, wasn't the best thing he could've done.

As Danny scolded himself, Vlad seemed to waver for a moment between anger and despair. He had known to expect this from the boy so he was by no means, surprised, but this was why he had thought it best to keep his distance, remaining as enemies. It was easier that way, he knew how to act with an enemy and so did Daniel. At least as an adversary he was able to teach the boy without any complications and it meant that he could keep a close eye on him without worrying about morals or scruples. It was really, the only way he knew how to be and clearly he had failed in his attempts to be civil with Daniel, as the boy's outburst showed. He was too deep, in Danny's opinion, as an enemy, an evil man, that he had little chance of gaining any sort of respect. Even though his attempt at civility was encouraged by ulterior motives, those motives were not malevolent as Danny would think.

Vlad wanted to make sure that he remained close to Danny so that he could discover just what was wrong with his ecto-signature and what it would mean for the boy. It was a better way than relying on his equipment to spy on him but ultimately, it seemed that it was his only option. Instead of letting out his temper in one of his characteristic outbursts of fury, he let out a deep sigh.

"Very well," Vlad replied stoically. He gracefully pushed his chair back, dropped the napkin from his lap onto the table and stood up. "I have work to do in the city and I expect my castle to be undamaged when I return," he spoke quickly, walking across the room to the door.

"...Vlad...I..." Danny began apologetically, but Vlad didn't make any indication that he was listening.

"Do what you want, but if a room is locked I'll ask that you respect my privacy. Do not enter my lab. Don't even think about touching any of my cars, if you want to go into the city have one of the staff drive you there. Don't use your powers around them and don't pester them; I'll remind you that they are human and know nothing about ghosts," the older hybrid continued as he opened the door, "Good day," he finished, finally leaving the room.

"...What was that?" Danny furrowed his brow, "I was expecting...I dunno...getting thrown through a wall, or something...not...that..."

"Yeah, it was strange," Jazz admitted, "...But not surprising."

"How'd you figure?"

"Well, he was trying to be nice...I think..." she frowned.

"I know, I know, it was just...weird, and I know I shouldn't have yelled but it's not like he's not used to yelling back at me," Danny said quickly without a breath. "What should I do, Jazz?" he asked.

"I don't know, Danny," she sighed, "And I don't think he knows either."

"Stupid Clockwork," the young hybrid mumbled, "This is all his fault," he grumbled, pushing his plate aside.

"He did the right thing, now we have to...once we figure out what it is," his sister smiled at him kindly.

"And how are 'we' going to do that?"

"By not getting angry, for a start."

"Easy for you to say," Danny replied, "Why do I feel like I've done something wrong? Argh, this whole thing is messed up!"

"Yeah, it is, and I know Vlad's done a lot of bad things, but why don't we just try and keep it neutral for a while and see how things go. If he gets outta line then I'll help you take him out," she said.

"...Okay..." he nodded.

"And we are in a castle, how about we go have some fun?" Jazz grinned.

"I dunno, Vlad's an old guy, I don't think he'll have anything I think is fun in here," Danny shrugged.

"Oh, come on, he's wanted you to 'join' him since he met you, right? You don't think he'd plan ahead just in case you said 'yes' and stock up on stuff that you'd want?"

"That...does sound like something he'd do," the young hybrid frowned, "The creeper."

"Then let's go, there's like two hundred rooms here. - we've got a lot of ground to cover and you can't use your powers, so we'll have to look the old fashioned way. It could take all day."

"I can use my powers, just so long as no one else is around...I'm not doing what Vlad said I just don't wanna have to explain it to someone if they see me," he added quickly.

"Uh-huh," Jazz nodded, standing up, "Race you to the top floor."

"You're on!" Danny laughed and they made a mad rush for the door and then they ran side by side up the grand staircase with its carved wooden banisters and startled the staff who were dusting in a portrait filled, gallery-like corridor on the second floor.

* * *

A.N. I'm glad I've had such a positive response for the story so far. I've decided to keep the chapters relatively small - just over 3,000 words each since it's easier for me to write and I can get them done much more quickly.

Now, if anyone has any ideas as to what they want to happen in the story, let me know. Just for an example, I had an idea that I could have Vlad go to see a play or something and he drags Danny along as well, Jazz I think would go willingly and of course, and Vlad would have his own private box.


	4. The Castle's Secrets

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 4: The Castle's Secrets**

* * *

Once the two teens had practically dragged themselves up the last flight of stairs they collapsed onto the ground, exhausted. Both were too tired now to notice that they'd come to a small hallway at the top of the tower with only a few doors to choose from. It was much less grand than the rest of the castle and seemed to have been neglected for years; the stone work was dusty, the paint was cracked and there were cobwebs hanging from the metal torch holders.

"...Okay..." Danny panted, "...So...who won..."

"I don't...know...I think...I did..." Jazz breathed heavily back.

"You would...say that..." her brother snorted, "Stupid fruitloop...who needs...this many floors...anyway..."

"It is...a...castle," she reminded him.

"And...he chose to live in it...And...this was your dumb idea...oh...'race ya to the top floor'...yeah...that was genius...Maybe climbing to the top of the highest tower thing wasn't the best idea..."

"Yeah...well, you agreed."

"You're supposed to...be the smart one...not me...'D' student...remember..."

"I was trying to waste some time..."

"How long...d'we kill?"

"About fifteen minutes," Jazz answered, beginning to get her breath back as she looked at her watch.

"That's all?!"

"Yep," she said, pushing herself up from the floor.

"Well...now we're up here...what'd we do?" Danny frowned, looking around slowly.

"I guess we go back down, there's nothing up here."

"We don't know that yet," he shrugged and slowly stood up, "Wow...this is definitely a fixer-upper," he frowned, "Think the decorators missed a spot?"

"No joke," Jazz said.

"Let's see what's behind door number one," Danny smiled and walked up to the first door.

It opened with a loud 'creak' from its hinges and Danny peered inside, but it was in total darkness and he walked cautiously inside. The thick curtains were closed which was blocking the morning light so when he threw them open, the room was bathed in sunlight for the first time in years. Jazz walked in after him and they saw that, aside from some antiquated paintings stacked against the walls, there was literally nothing else there.

"Nothing," he scowled, "That's a let down."

"This high up in the place it's not like we're going to find anything interesting," Jazz said.

"I know, but we may as well look, I mean, we took the stairs!" Danny waved his hands in emphasis. "Next time we fly, I don't care what Plasmius says, I'm so not walking down all those stairs."

The second room wasn't much different from the first and Danny ended up slamming the door shut in frustration. "Nothing again," Danny scowled, "I guess it'd be too easy for Vlad to hide all his secret stuff in his attic," he sighed walking to the third and final door. It was up a small flight of stairs with narrow walls and Danny glared at the stone steps in disapproval before he reached the door. "Third time's the charm," he said, reaching out to push down the handle.

Inside it was dark again so he ignited his hand in green ectoplasm and stood in the doorway as the room and it's furnishings were revealed. "...Wow..." Danny breathed, "It's like a jumble sale."

This room was much larger than the last two and it was simply filled with objects. There was furniture of every size and shape, most of which was covered with dusty white sheets as though they'd been brought in when Vlad moved in and simply been left to rot in there. Danny could see cardboard boxes and old wooden trunks stacked high along with some rolled up carpets and old books. The purlins and rafters were visible above the chaotic room giving it a closed in, yet homely feel.

"I don't know if we should go in here, Danny," Jazz said suddenly.

"Hey, he only said stay outta any looked rooms and this wasn't locked," he shrugged.

"Probably because no one ever comes up here, I mean, look how dusty it is," she said waving a hand in front of her face to waft away the heavy layer of dust in the air, "It probably hasn't been cleaned since Vlad moved here, like the others."

"Yeah, but look at this all stuff," Danny grinned, "Come on, let's take a look,"

"With a castle this big, it stands to reason that if Vlad took the time to put it all up here then he doesn't want anyone to see it," his sister said quickly.

"Then he should've locked it," Danny scoffed, walking into the room, ignoring Jazz's protests. "Besides, you went in the other rooms," he added.

"There was nothing in them," she pointed out.

"So what? It's not like he's here to stop us," he replied as he went across to the windows and pulled open the thick curtains to let in the light.

Jazz sighed and reluctantly navigated her way around the plethora of miscellanea, making her way over to her brother as he spoke again. "I don't see why he wouldn't want to use these rooms," Danny said, "The view's are great," he added, leaning on the window ledge and staring out at the lush landscape that stretched on for miles.

"Probably because there's amazing views from every room here, some of which aren't up twenty flights of stairs," Jazz raised an eyebrow.

"Good point," he smirked pushing himself back from the ledge and walking around the room with a spring in his step. "Man, look at all this...you could fill another house with it all," Danny rolled his eyes. "I don't see why he'd leave all this stuff up here, there's nothing wrong with any of it," he said.

"Maybe he just doesn't want to look at it, or something" Jazz suggested.

"Then why wouldn't he just get rid of it?"

"Sentimental reasons, maybe."

"Sentimental...Vlad...really?" Danny scoffed, "Yeah right, what would..." he muttered before he remembered something that Clockwork had shown him.

He remembered that Vlad had kept the photograph of him and his family that had been taken when Danny himself had been a young baby and his parents had just made the older hybrid godfather to their children. Even after so many years, Vlad still had it hidden away. It was things like that which gave Danny hope because even if Vlad hadn't made any effort to get to know them when they'd been growing up, at least he'd thought about them a little. It wasn't much, but in Vlad's case it meant a great deal.

"Danny?" Jazz questioned when he failed to finish his sentence.

"Mmm?" he hummed, blinking back to reality.

"Something wrong?"

"I'm fine," Danny shook his head and started looking around again.

After a minute, he reached out and pulled off a large white sheet from a piece of furniture to reveal an old wooden writing desk. The sliding lid was shut and Danny wasted no time in lifting it up to reveal a stash of papers, pens, pencils and small books. He picked up some of the papers and examined them but soon frowned in disappointment."It's all...in Russian," he told her, putting down the papers.

"That's not really surprising," Jazz said, coming to stand by his side.

"Hey...does this look kinda familiar to you?" Danny suddenly ran his hand along the desk for a minute before turning to her.

"What d'you mean?" she asked curiously.

"I think I've seen it somewhere before."

"Not likely, it doesn't look like it's been moved in years."

"Yeah...I guess..." he furrowed his brow, not entirely convinced. He continued to route through the contents of the desk and eventually he found a small silver photo frame which was buried under a stack of papers. "Look," Danny said, raising the small frame for her to see.

It was a dusty, worn photograph of a young man - a young Vlad, with his father standing behind him, a possessive hand resting on the boy's shoulder and a cold expression on his pale face. The young Vlad had a resigned yet mournful acceptance in his blue eyes and though it looked as though he was trying to move away from his father, the man's hand seemed strong enough to drag him back, at least for the time it took to capture the image.

"So...this was Vlad's," Danny said, "I did see it...in his memories when Clockwork showed us."

"Looks like," Jazz nodded, taking the photo frame from her brother's hand. "I can see why he'd keep this up here," she said, putting the object back on the desk.

Without another word, Danny walked away from the desk and continued to move objects or kneel down to get a better look at a certain one, and he decided on one of the many clusters of boxes and trunks to investigate next. It was full of books, papers, old clothes and he grinned when he came across some photo albums. He uncovered one of them from the mess they were buried with and wiped the dust from it before opening it.

"Hey, check this out," Danny chuckled, "Plasmius' college days," he pointed to a page. "What a dork," the young hybrid muttered.

Jazz moved slowly across to her brother who was pouring eagerly through the old album. There was pictures of Vlad with their parents among many others, but Jazz felt that this was a gross invasion of privacy. Of Vlad's privacy. She understood that the older hybrid was uncomfortable enough with them having seen so much of his past already and she didn't want to push their luck if he found out they'd gone looking around his things and discovered even more about him.

"Come on, I think we should go," she said quickly, turning to leave the room.

"What?" Danny exclaimed, "No way, I'm not even half way through this thing."

"Danny," she sighed.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming," he frowned putting down the album reluctantly, "I still say we should stick around," he muttered, walking over to his sister at the door.

"I don't want to go snooping around stuff that Vlad obviously wanted to hide away," she said.

"Maybe he's just forgot about it all," Danny shrugged.

"And it just so happens to be stuff from his childhood and from his college days; two times in his life that we both understand he'd want to hide away?

He let out a frustrated breath and stared up at her, "Don't you get tired of being right all the time?" he asked.

"Nope," she smiled.

"You know, he's not gonna appreciate you saying all that," Danny told her as she closed the door behind them.

"He's not gonna know," Jazz said, "'Cos we're not gonna tell him we've been up here."

"We're gonna lie?" he smirked, "I dunno, Jazz, this is Plasmius we're talking about and as much as I hate to admit it, he's a clever dude, he'll probably know when we're lying."

"We'll cross that bridge when - if - we come to it. I mean, you do remember what his reaction was when he found out that Clockwork had shown us his past, right?"

"How could I forget?" Danny scoffed, subconsciously rubbing his neck where Vlad had almost choked him.

"And if he finds out that you were looking around in there I think it'll be worse than that..."

"You went in there too," he muttered.

"And making him angry doesn't fit in with the whole 'neutral' plan, so..."

"Alright, I get it," Danny held up his hands, "Never mention it again, got it."

"Okay," Jazz nodded, "Let's get outta here," she said, leading the way back down the stairs.

"You do know I could fly us down, right?"

"What if someone sees us?"

"All the way up here?" Danny rolled his eyes, "I don't think so, I could just take us down a few floors, it's better than walking the whole way."

"Good point," she nodded, "Okay then, just a few floors though."

"You're so pushy," he smiled and so did Jazz.

Danny took them down three floors and, after naming sure that there was no one in the corridor to see them appear, he dropped his invisibility and the two siblings simply emerged from nothing. "We could've gone further down," he noted.

"Don't you want to look around some more?" she asked.

"Thought you said you didn't want to snoop."

"In the attic, no, we don't know what's in the rest of this place yet," Jazz gave him a smile.

"There's the no-good teenage attitude I was looking for," Danny laughed, "Alright, pick a door," he said looking around the long, wide corridor. There were door on either side and paintings and antique wall lamps as well.

"That one," Jazz pointed randomly to one of the wooden doors which Danny preceded to open.

"Whoa...Jazz...you're not gonna believe this..." he breathed.

"What?"

"This is either the coolest room in the place...or it's the weirdest," he said, moving into the room to let her follow him.

"An armoury?" Jazz raised an incredulous eyebrow as she surveyed the large room, "...Well...we are in a castle."

"Yeah, but how many people actually own this stuff?" Danny whispered walking across the dark wooden floor, spinning around to look in each direction.

"Vlad does, for one," Jazz smiled.

"Rich fruitloop," he shook his head and walked around.

There were displays of archaic European weaponry and armour, some was hanging on the walls while others had been laid out on tables and none of it was behind glass like one would expect from a museum. Danny couldn't deny that he liked this room. He liked the different types of swords and he wanted to learn how to use them, but from what Clockwork had shown him, Vlad wouldn't be a good teacher if he was like his father.

Just as he was examining a broadsword, his eyes were suddenly drawn away from the monochromatic silver to a mahogany table which held more colour than the rest of the room combined. There was at least a dozen photographs on display there and Danny couldn't help but float over to get a better look. Each image was filled with colour and life with people sliming and laughing to each other. Many of the people wore colourfully patterned cloth over one shoulder with beads around their necks, wrists and ankles and they stood on a large open landscape with greenery and a dusty air. But what surprised Danny the most was that among the smiling natives, was Vlad. The man, looking around ten years younger, was on many of the photos looking for all the world like he belonged there.

"Where is that? Is it...Africa? He went to Africa?" Danny blinked, staring down at the photos. "Don't rich people usually go to...I don't know...rich people places like Vegas or something?"

Along with the display of images there was a large bow, which compared to much of the room's contents, appeared relatively new. It was displayed on the wall with arrows beside it and a large, sharp spear with colourful strings tied around it to one side. There was also the hide of a large baboon at the feet of the table on which stood the photos and a further array of arrows and beaded jewellery. This large display was much more personal than the rest of the room, which despite the openness, had a museum-like feel to it, unlike this one.

"I thought so," Jazz said quietly, "But apparently not."

"It's pretty cool," Danny remarked before he could stop himself, "But it's hard to imagine Vlad living with an African tribe," he added.

"If he came back with all this, they must've got along," she said curiously regarding the large, varied display.

"Or he stole it," her brother said.

"Why would he steal any of this? It's not valuable, not compared to everything else he owns. And that doesn't explain the photographs, do those people look angry - like they've been robbed - to you?"

"He could've overshadowed them."

"What for? To take a few photos, steal a few tribal weapons and a baboon skin?"

"...Yeah..." Danny sighed, "...It's a working theory...Why couldn't Clockwork have shown us this?!" he moaned.

"You could ask Vlad about it," Jazz suggested.

"That's your answer for everything, isn't it?" Danny lamented, "Ask mom and dad about Vlad being our godfather, ask Vlad about his trip to Africa..."

"Well, how else are you gonna learn anything about it?"

"That...sounded like something Vlad'd say..." he muttered, suddenly feeling a cold chill run down his spine. He shivered heavily for a moment and turned to see that the windows were closed so there wasn't a draught coming in. He crossed his arms around himself and he swore he could feel his teeth chattering before the cold feeling went away and he felt normal again.

"You okay?" Jazz asked with a frown.

"Fine," he said, "I just...got a bit cold, is all."

"It's not cold in here," she said.

"I know," he furrowed his brow, "...Weird, anyway I'm..."

"You shivered," Jazz stated, "Really shivered."

"Yeah, now I'm fine, so come on," Danny shrugged, "There's like a billion more rooms in this place."

"Okay," she nodded uncertainly, "Okay, but if you're not feeling well..."

"Look at me, I'm fine!" Danny insisted, "It was just a cold chill," he said and she sighed before giving him a small smile.

"Lead the way," she said, gesturing to the door.

* * *

*1 - If you look up a picture of Vlad's castle, it actually has one really tall tower in the middle along with some smaller turrets around it. Lol. Bet you thought I had no idea what I was talking about, didn't ya?


	5. Vlad's no Superman

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 5: Vlad's no Superman**

* * *

Vlad sat in his office at his desk, strumming his fingers lightly in his boredom as he stared at the papers and folders strewn across the surface of the desk. Those papers were from a meeting he'd attended months ago and were now of little use to him, but they had been the first ones he'd seen on rummaging around looking for something to do. On simply getting to his office, Vlad was aware that his driving had hardly been safety conscious but there were more important things he had to think about than driving; after all, if there was an accident he'd probably come out of it unscathed. What was more important was; how was he going to get through the next two weeks without either going mad or tearing Danny limb from limb as the boy continued to test his limits? It was a difficult balancing act and it sapping most of Vlad strength just to think about it.

He'd lied to Danny earlier of course, in fact he had no work to do at all. Vlad had kept his schedule all but empty for the two weeks that Danny and Jazz were to stay at his castle, although to do what exactly, he wasn't quite sure. He couldn't stay and play 'happy families' with the children. If he hadn't left when he had, Vlad had a strong suspicion that he would've exploded in anger; he was fully aware that he had certain issues with his temper, for which he blamed his father.

As the years had passed, Vlad thought his memories of childhood had been long forgotten and buried. He'd thought that their effects had faded with time and that he was free from their influence and from his father. He was not a small, weak child and no one had the power to cross him anymore and yet the thought that Daniel knew everything was more than he could bear. It was difficult to even look the boy in the eye now let alone know how to act. Part of him wanted to simply fall back on what he knew and continue his plans - to antagonise Daniel in an attempt to train him and hopefully wait until the boy realised that fact when he would one day join Vlad. But that day was a long way away. Danny was no where near to realising his plan and Vlad himself forgot about it sometimes - compared to his 'build up his business empire' plans and his 'revenge on Jack' plans, his 'teaching Danny' plans were relatively new and he had difficulty in keeping them all balanced in his mind.

"Why do you have to make things so complicated, Daniel?" Vlad sighed.

In his mind it was Daniel's fault that things felt so out of balance - things had been much more simple before he'd known of Danny Phantom's existence. He'd been on his was to finally achieving his revenge and fate had decided to kick him down before he could enjoy his victory. It wasn't fair. Didn't he deserve his revenge after twenty long years? But in truth, Vlad had made every little progress towards actually getting that revenge since he'd met Danny. Somewhere along the way, without even realising it, his thoughts had moved from revenge on Jack to his interest in the young hybrid. It was only natural, Danny was the only other half ghost in existence and he needed guidance. Vlad hadn't had any guidance whatsoever and he couldn't count the number of times he'd gone on an angry rampage with his powers, screaming out when he couldn't control himself or when he couldn't understand why he'd been dealt such a cursed hand.

But not once had Vlad seen Danny display that same anger in the way that he had - instead the boy used his powers for 'good.' Did that made him the better man, so to speak? He supposed that Danny only acted as he did because he'd been so influenced by 'hero' media and so on, that his teenage mind hadn't had time to form it's own world-weary personality, unlike Vlad who had been old enough to understand the world more fully when he'd developed his powers. Danny's hero complex was unlikely to wane with time having contracted it so young but Vlad still hoped that he'd see the error of his ways - that he'd understand that the word was not black and white and that it wasn't his responsibility to save everyone, every hour of every day. Sooner or later, Vlad knew that something had to give and Danny would end up going out of his mind or getting seriously hurt - and not because of something Vlad did.

But he also knew that he couldn't hide away in his office for two weeks and that he'd have to decide on which course of action to take; the one he'd been travelling down for twenty years by his own design, or the one which Clockwork was trying to force on him for reasons that he still didn't understand. Vlad didn't appreciate the Time Master's interference and he liked the secrecy even less but he knew there was nothing he could do about it. He knew to pick his battles and he generally didn't fight unless the odds were in his favour - against the Master of Time, even Vlad Plasmius was forced to admit that he was at a disadvantage.

He wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed, but Vlad grew bored of staring at his office walls and usually when he looked out at the bustling city from his floor to ceiling high windows, time could pass him by and Vlad could enjoy the knowledge that he was standing on the top of the world. But now he grew weary of it remarkably quickly and it wasn't long before he was marching away from the windows, packing away his files and whirling out of the building as fast as he could without using his ghost powers. He simply couldn't concentrate on work and the castle was certainly large enough to allow him some privacy even with Daniel and his sister there. Until he could clear his head and decide on a plan of action, Vlad thought it best to leave the children to their own devices and hopefully, they'd do the same.

Vlad soon found himself back at his castle, walking through the ground floor on his route to the sitting room and he opened the door, not expecting to find anyone within, so he was more than a little surprised to find the two Fenton siblings there; he'd expected the children to keep to their rooms. He opened his mouth to speak but, for the first time in years, Vlad found that words failed him and he hadn't the faintest idea of what he could say.

Danny had turned around on the sofa and sat up on his knees to see just who it was that had opened the door and he'd been just as surprised as Vlad. He'd thought the man had said that he had 'work' to do and he'd barely been gone for three hours, during which time Danny and Jazz had settled down to watch television. The young hybrid watched as Vlad's eyes flickered from him to his sister and he seemed to decide on staying silent. Vlad then stepped back and closed the door, knowing that it was for the best.

"...Great..." Danny sighed, slouching further onto the sofa, "That was more awkward than this morning."

"Well, I hate to say it, but that was your fault," Jazz told him sadly.

"Thanks, Jazz," he replied dryly.

"You should talk to him," she said suddenly and without reservation.

"Talking may solve every problem in 'psychology land' but it's not the best idea when a guy can blast people through buildings if someone, namely me, says the wrong thing," Danny emphasised.

"So, you're fine with living like this for two weeks? You know it'll only get worse and Vlad won't make any move towards trying to get along after what happened this morning. I'm surprised he even tried."

"Yeah, me too, that was the problem," he sighed, "I was too surprised to think straight. I can't help it; every time I see him I just can't help but think he's up to something. It's his fault anyway. He usually is up to something."

"Well, unless you talk to him, I think he will be pretty soon," Jazz shook her head, "He's too confused. When people get confused they fall back on what they know - Vlad knows how to be 'evil' so that's what he'll do. He doesn't know how to deal with people knowing about his past when he was vulnerable."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Then you'll talk to him?"

"Do I look like I have a death wish?" Danny scoffed back.

"If you don't, you'll be ignoring everything Clockwork showed us."

"Gah! Okay, I know, okay, I get it!"

"Go on then," Jazz smirked when Danny made no move to go after Vlad.

"What?"

"Go talk to him," she encouraged him.

"...You mean now?"

"No, I mean after he decides to start a fight - of course now!" Jazz rolled her eyes.

"Fine, but if I die you have to avenge me," Danny muttered as he shuffled, reluctantly, out of the room.

"Good luck," his sister gave him a cheery wave.

"Know it all," he replied, closing the door behind him. Once he was alone in the corridor, Danny was far less sure of himself, he didn't want to agitate Vlad by saying something wrong and thereby make outlook for the next two weeks even worse even more gloomy than it already was. But that wouldn't be a problem if Danny couldn't even find Vlad in the first place. The castle was huge and he didn't want to use his powers in case any of the staff were nearby and Vlad found out, which again, would make the man angry with him.

Danny was forced to resort to asking the people he passed if they had seen Vlad and luckily, he was informed that the older hybrid had gone out into the garden.

"Where'd he go?" he sighed, "Argh...this is gonna take ages," he groaned, staring out at the huge expanse of land which passed as Vlad's 'garden.' There was no doubt that it was a very impressive garden but it was far too big. "Hey, erm...did Vlad go this this way?" Danny nervously asked a man who was diligently trimming the hedges.

"Try down by the gazebo," the man answered, "That way," he added, gesturing left when Danny blinked uncertainly.

"...Thanks," he said, running off down the pathway.

The gazebo was one of a very grand, victorian style with narrow, spiralling pillars and a white, arched roof. It was set a few steps above beds of colourful flowers and a water feature that lead from a small stream further into the grounds. Vlad was staring out at this calming scene, sitting on the steps of the gazebo, his suit jacket discarded and folded on one of the benches under the arched roof.

"What do you want, Daniel?" Vlad asked, making Danny jump.

"You...you saw me, huh?" he asked unnecessarily.

"Not quite," the older hybrid shrugged but he didn't elaborate. He didn't think it prudent to inform Danny that he could literally sense the boy's ecto-signature from miles away so he didn't have to 'see' Danny to know that he was there.

"Oh..." Danny breathed.

"If I am 'leaving you alone', isn't it only right that you do the same?"

"Yeah, about that...look, I shouldn't have...I was just..." the young hybrid tried to explain shakily, "...I'm sorry, okay..." he said.

"Are you saying that because your sister encouraged you to say it or because you pity the young me?" Vlad asked insightfully.

"Hey, I..." Danny began to exclaim, but he stopped himself. He realised that Vlad knew him better than he thought - better than he would've liked actually. On the one hand it was creepily scary but on the other it was also impressive. Vlad knew practically everything about Danny and yet it took Clockwork's intervention for Danny to learn even the simplest things about Vlad. Jazz had said he should talk to Vlad and he did pity Vlad for the way he grew up, but were those the only reasons he'd apologised?

"Well...I guess at first..." Danny said in a much more calm manner, "...It was both..."

Vlad narrowed his eyes at Danny as he spoke but despite his anger at being pitied by a teenager, he couldn't suppress the ounce of pride he felt. The boy had learned something useful from this after all; he had learned the benefits of thinking before he acted and he was beginning to put it into practice. Vlad feared that Danny would never learn to think first and it was one thing he'd tried to correct. Evidently, Clockwork had succeeded where he had so far failed - another reason to despise the Time Master. He had taken away Vlad's victory.

"I've told you before; I don't want or require your pity," he told the younger hybrid.

"It doesn't work that way," Danny replied. "...Look, we both know that me and Jazz don't need a 'babysitter', I could just fly us both home right now..."

"Go ahead," Vlad shrugged elegantly.

"But..." Danny ground out, trying to ignore Vlad's stoic comment, "I'm not going to."

"And you felt the need to tell me so...because?"

"Because then I'd be ignoring everything Clockwork told me and I wouldn't be changing anything."

"You'd be better off ignoring it all," Vlad said.

"I don't think so," Danny replied quickly.

"That wasn't a suggestion, boy," the older hybrid glared, turning his suddenly glowing red eyes towards Danny.

"Like you're gonna beat me up with all those people around..." Danny broke off when Vlad sent a strong ecto-blast at him without even bothering to stand up.

The attack sent Danny hurtling across the grass. His whole body was shaking from the force of the attack and Danny could tell that the blast had been charged with electrical energy because there were faint bolts dancing across his skin which, thankfully begun to fade away quickly. "...What the heck was that for?!" he yelled, pushing himself up onto his feet.

"Never underestimate the enemy," Vlad said simply, "Don't let your guard down."

"And that was worth attacking me?!"

"Naturally."

"Argh! You're so messed up! Couldn't you have just said that in the first place?! Why do you even care about that stuff when you hate me anyway?"

"It's for your own good."

"Right, right, 'my own good'," Danny hissed, "Why didn't I think of that?! So every attack, every battle, every plan, every time you spied on me...it was 'for my own good'..."

"You wouldn't understand."

"Of course I don't," Danny exclaimed, "No one likes being spied on whatever the reason! And you can't lie to me - you hate me, I know you do. Every time we've fought I can tell you hate me."

Vlad scoffed and turned away, looking out at the landscape instead of at Danny. He didn't expect the boy to comprehend something that he himself was mostly unsure of. It was easy to forget things when fighting an 'enemy' and that had been the point - fighting was simple for Vlad, it was second nature to him now.

"But I don't get why you think you're doing everything for 'my own good' if you do hate me so much . I don't get it at all. I know you said you don't hate me, but every time you look at me all I see is hate. It's...scary," Danny admitted reluctantly. "I never wanted any enemies, it just happens."

"You were the one expecting to defeat me when we first met - before I'd even begun to antagonise you, I might add," Vlad replied pedantically.

"Yeah...look where that got me," the young hybrid muttered, "I get it okay, I do, really; throwing a punch first is bad. I know that now."

"Thank goodness," the man rolled his eyes, "That is the one good thing to come out of this."

"I don't see why we can't just try to get on," Danny shrugged, "I know you don't like my dad, but he's not here right now, I am."

"You can't change the fact that I still need my revenge, Daniel," Vlad shook his head, "Even if I'm driven to the point of insanity or destruction, I must have it."

"Why?"

"I'm a ghost, ghosts are nothing if not single minded about their deaths...even you."

"...Huh?"

"Tell me," Vlad began, "Why do you think you use your powers to protect people?"

"Because it's the right thing to do," Danny sighed heavily.

"Because no one was there to protect you and prevent half of you from dying, so you're driven by your 'death' to protect others, not your morals," the older hybrid corrected him.

"Then why aren't you flying around like Superman?" the boy blinked in confusion.

"You don't need revenge, I do. I didn't cause my accident. I can't stop my desire for revenge any more than you can stop yourself from saving people. It's kept me going for twenty years and in a way, you have much more freedom than I ever will."

"...Bet that was hard to say..." Danny said slowly.

"You'll never know, little badger," Vlad gave a rueful smile and turned away from Danny. He said nothing else nor did he make any move to alleviate the thick tension in the atmosphere that made Danny very nervous. The young hybrid didn't take silence very well - growing up with his parents, life had always been noisy and active but clearly Vlad didn't mind it at all.

"...So...what happens now?" Danny asked, unable to take the silence a moment longer.

"Why don't you ask Clockwork, he seems to be leading this dance, after all," Vlad scoffed.

"I did ask him," Danny sighed, "He never explains things, he just talks in riddles...it's annoying."

"We can agree on that," the older hybrid smirked when Danny frowned. "If even the slightest agreement between us makes you so uneasy I don't see why you're bothering with this," Vlad added, reading Danny's mind like an open book.

"It's not that...it's just...I'm just waiting for you to say I should join you, or I should be more evil if I actually agree with you about something."

"Clearly you know me better than you think - mostly thanks to Clockwork, no doubt," Vlad shook his head.

"Is that...a bad thing? I mean, you know a heck of a lot about me...it's kinda creepy...but you do, so it's only fair that he evens things out...right?"

"Not everything is 'fair', haven't you learned that yet?"

"I guess, but I..." Danny sighed, "I'll just...stay out of your way then," he admitted defeat and turned around.

"...Daniel..." Vlad began as the boy started to walk away.

Danny turned back to Vlad, expecting an ecto-blast to the face, but saw that Vlad was pushing himself up from the steps and picking up his jacket. He made his way a over to the younger hybrid, "I assume you've already made a search of my castle?" he asked calmly.

"...Maybe...why?" Danny asked, confused at Vlad's abrupt a change in attitude.

"Did you find anything of interest?"

Danny couldn't help but be wary of Vlad's u-turn and he knew it would be a bad idea to tell Vlad that they'd been in the 'attic'. He was surprised that the man himself didn't ask about it since Vlad usually cut straight to the point when he wanted to know something. But in truth, Vlad had long since put it out of his mind that much of his childhood possessions and college work was hidden away in the tower, so he didn't think to ask Danny about it.

"...Maybe..." the boy repeated with a shrug.

"Daniel, a conversation doesn't work when one person only gives monosyllabic responses," Vlad rolled his eyes.

"...I liked the...armoury..." Danny muttered cautiously.

"I thought you might," the man smiled.

"Where'd you even get all that stuff from, anyway?" Danny asked, not expecting an answer, so he was surprised when Vlad gave him one.

"Most of it I found on my travels abroad."

"...Like Africa?" the boy ventured to ask.

"Like Africa, yes," Vlad nodded.

"Huh..." Danny breathed, still having a hard time picturing Vlad living with, and getting along with an African tribe - Vlad was always so prim and proper in his suits.

"What?"

"Nothing...I just can't imagine you...never mind..."

"Clockwork didn't show you everything then," Vlad chuckled, "I suppose I should be grateful for small mercies...I could tell you about it if you want."

"...Really?"

"Really," he emphasised.

"No...no catch?"

"I wasn't planning on it," Vlad said.

"...Okay then," Danny nodded, unable to hide his curiosity.

* * *

A.N. This one's a little longer (i.e. 700 odd words longer) than I intended, but I didn't want to cut any of it out or leave the conversation hanging until the next chapter. I'm not that cruel.


	6. An Intriguing Anomaly

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 6: An Intriguing Anomaly**

* * *

Vlad kept a watchful eye on Danny as they walked slowly through the garden. Although the older man had said he would tell Danny about his African collection, he was somewhat reluctant to speak. The thought of being listened to by Danny was a novel concept and so, naturally, Vlad was treading with caution.

In the meantime, the young hybrid was careful to watch every movement that the man made just in case he decided to attack, and this rather sloppy attempt at constant observation almost made Vlad weep. Vlad was a master at observation, covert or otherwise, but Danny didn't even know the basics. The older hybrid simply hadn't had enough time to 'teach' Danny everything he knew and since Vlad had to plan his 'lessons' carefully, it made things even more difficult. He couldn't 'teach' Danny anything without it having a purpose - so if he wanted Danny to learn to fight against multiple attackers, he had to set up a 'plot' for it to be necessary. If he wanted Danny to learn how to avoid electrical attacks, then he needed to use them in a fight and so on, and so on. It was a very laborious and tedious process.

"So..." Danny drawled, braving Vlad's wrath in breaking the persistent silence, "...Africa, then...you didn't steal that stuff...the bow, the arrows, the spear...right?"

"No, I didn't," Vlad sighed, "In fact they were made specifically for me as gifts."

"...Huh..."

"Don't believe me?"

"Erm...maybe..."

"I didn't think so," Vlad smirked, "But whether you do or don't; that is the truth. They were given to me by the Hadzabe tribe in Tanzania."

"...Why?"

"So that I could hunt with them," the man said, exasperatedly, as though it were obvious, "They are hunter-gatherers, some of the last reminding people to be completely isolated from cities and technology of any kind."

"You hunted...with arrows?"

"I did and I rather enjoyed it."

"Uh-huh," Danny hummed. He couldn't understand the attraction that Vlad and Skulker had to 'hunting'.

"You still don't believe any of it," Vlad stated with confidence.

"I just don't get why you'd live with a tribe and hunt with arrows...it's not...you're Plasmius...it's...weird..."

"If I did explain it to you, would you listen?"

"Yeah."

"Would you believe me?"

"...I guess..." Danny shrugged.

"Very well," Vlad let out a breath and stopped walking for a moment as he looked down at the boy. "I was twenty nine and I'd been in control of my company for four years. I had a vast fortune at my fingertips so I did what any wealthy young man does - I travelled. While a life in Wall Street is entertaining enough in its own right, I'd gotten bored so I went for the adventure," he explained. His eyes were alight with life and repressed excitement as he spoke and it was strange for Danny to see the man so alive. "I had the opportunity and the means to do whatever I wanted and I did."

Danny listened with rapt attention as Vlad spoke and he was able to see the human in the older man - his joy, even after all these years, when he'd finally been free from his father and his longing to see the world. It was something that Danny could understand for he too wanted to see the world, though he had no abusive family member to escape from, he often flew high in the night's sky to be free from their constant obsession of creating and discussing new weapons with which they could hunt down his alter ego.

"I did whatever I wanted, I went wherever I felt like going and no one could stop me," Vlad said, "I spent months in the mountain temples and villages of the Himalayas and I lived longer still with the Hadzabe in Africa."

"...I...I don't get it," Danny sighed slowly, "You have everything - you enjoy having everything. You like your stupid business work. I don't get why you'd just up and leave it all to live with tribes...I mean...there's nothing wrong with that or anything, but...you're Vlad...you like the high life."

"Yes, I do, and I did then," Vlad nodded, "But I was also bored with it. I spent so long immersed in my work without looking up and before I knew it, four years had passed me by without my realising it."

"So...it was...like...time off?"

"I suppose so," Vlad shrugged.

"Sounds like...fun," Danny smiled wistfully.

"You know what it's like to be bored of the same routine and yet at the same time, we can't imagine ourselves doing anything else. I enjoy my work because I have control but I hate it at the same time. You enjoy 'protecting' your town but at the same time you want to have your own freedom," Vlad told him with confidence and he shivered, once more unnerved by how well the older hybrid knew him.

"...That's still creepy..." Danny muttered to himself, forgetting for a moment that Vlad, like him, had enhanced senses.

"What is?" Vlad asked, smirking, "That I know you better than you care to admit?"

"...Yeah...that..."

"A person in my career has to be adept at reading people or I'd be back-stabbed at every turn - metaphorically speaking, of course. And it comes in handy when you get too complacent," he chuckled when Danny frowned.

"About that..." the boy began, indignantly, but Vlad seemed to ignore him.

"So, long story short, you searched my entire castle and all you found to interest you was the armoury," he said, in an attempt to bypass Danny's complaint. He knew it would lead to at least one of the losing their temper and most than likely, Vlad knew it'd be him first.

"...We didn't search the whole place," Danny sighed, letting his previous comment go. He knew he wouldn't get anywhere with his complaints and Vlad would only end up getting angry at him.

"Did you at least appreciate my art collection?"

"Meh," Danny shook his head.

"That's a disappointment," Vlad sighed dramatically, "An old masterpiece is as much a work of art as a well made sword or a suit of armour."

"Sure," the boy rolled his eyes, "You don't even have a swimming pool, do you? I thought all rich people had one somewhere."

"What would I do with swimming pool?" Vlad asked incredulously.

"Erm...lemme think...how about...swim in it?!" the boy waved his arms for emphasis.

"I have more important things in my estate than a swimming pool...is it that you want one?" the man asked after a moment with a smirk.

"Sure, who doesn't," Danny scoffed, "But I can't have one, I mean, where would I even put a swimming pool? Under my bed?"

"That is where living with me would be to your advantage, I could have one built anywhere you like within a few days if you so wished," Vlad replied smugly.

"Not gonna happen," the boy sighed automatically, "There's more important things in life than just having whatever stuff you want whenever you want it," he said after some thought.

"Not to me and not to the vast majority of the population," the older hybrid answered with a strange sadness in his eyes. "I could go out into the city and recite the same offer I've so frequently presented to you and more often than not, the answer would be 'yes.' People are nothing if not driven by greed."

"So what does that make me?" Danny asked.

"For the moment - an intriguing anomaly," Vlad replied, looking down at the boy.

"Great...I'm an anomaly."

"You do know what that means, don't you?"

"Duh," Danny mumbled, "...So...if I'm just an 'intriguing anomaly'...if I did say 'yes'...you'd end up getting bored and stop trying to 'train me' or whatever?" he asked curiously and Vlad burst out laughing.

"By no means, Daniel," the man chortled, "I'm afraid that will never happen."

"...Because I'm half ghost?"

"Perhaps," Vlad shrugged.

"Well...you didn't try and 'train' me or anything before you found out, and I didn't even know who you were before that," Danny said, "You knew who I was though."

"Your point?"

"My point is - you only want me to 'join' you 'cos I'm half ghost, not because you care or even because you like talking to me or anything! I don't want to do anything 'just because' I'm half ghost. Just because you're the only other person like me it doesn't mean you have the right to do anything you've done," Danny said quickly, hardly stopping for breath. "Yeah, you're my godfather as well, but most godparents make an effort to get to know the kid, not ignore them for fourteen years."

"...I was busy," Vlad said simply.

Danny was reminded of a similar conversation, Vlad had had with his mother and it made the young hybrid stop and take a breath before he continued.

"You were busy...playing businessman..." he sighed and Vlad glared at him in a mix of disbelief and anger. "I know...and I get it, I do. But we might not be fighting so much if you'd...maybe...y'know...stuck around...maybe..."

"You think I've never considered that?" Vlad asked, looking away.

"I don't know, you tell me. You were the one who told my parents that me and Jazz were 'never to know'," Danny shot back with some anger. "Look...if you really think that having money and power are so great, why aren't you happy?"

"What makes you think I'm not?" the man scoffed, obstinately.

"Well, gee, where do I start? How about the fact that you can't stop hating my dad for your accident?" Danny stressed the word. "If you were really happy, then revenge wouldn't matter so much and I...I t...think...t...that..." he began to stammer as his body was once more racked with violent shivers.

Danny wrapped his arms around his torso and he could see the bright sky and the warm sun even though he felt like he was being buried alive in a snow drift. It didn't make any sense to him why he'd be feeling so cold when it was the middle of summer and he'd been perfectly fine only moments ago. The first time it happened, he could pass it off a merely a cold spell, but twice? And this time it was much more cold than the first.

Vlad had sensed the younger hybrids ecto-signature suddenly explode in instability and he acted quickly by scanning his surroundings and pulling Danny to a more secluded spot behind the shadows of some large trees. He didn't want to risk any of his staff chancing upon a temporarily unstable hybrid. Vlad knew that he had been right and that Danny's ect-signature was spiking in energy which the boy had no idea how to control.

"Daniel?" he frowned, gripping the boy's shoulder. Danny had clenched his eyes shut and his teeth were chattering as he continued to shiver, unable to speak.

It had been years since Vlad himself had received any new powers but he could vividly remember what it had been like when he had. He remembered the intense electrical energy that he'd generated and he remembered the havoc that teleportation had played with his mind. Clearly, Danny's ghost powers were maturing significantly and whatever energy was forming, it was based on the cold. He remembered when he'd likened the boy's powers to a small candle flame, but perhaps that analogy had been wrong. With no one else to compare his own powers to, Vlad hadn't known what to expect with Danny's, but now it seemed that it was yet another example of irony at its best - making Danny's powers the opposite of Vlad's.

"...I...I'm fine..." Danny stammered, "W...what w...were we...t...talking ab...about?" His ghost sense continued to seep through his mouth in wispy trails of pale blue that dissipated in the calm breeze.

"Nothing important," Vlad answered as he stared intently at the younger hybrid.

"I...it was...it...it was...something...something a...about..." Danny continued to stutter through chattering teeth and slowly blueing lips.

It seemed that the seconds ticked by with exceeding slowness as Vlad regarded the shivering youth. Seeing the boy so stricken reminded him of his own unfortunate ghost power related accidents and he'd not had the benefit of having an older hybrid to ask for help. However, he knew that Danny would never ask him for advice so this wasn't going to be easy for either of them. Vlad knew that Danny's new powers were fighting to break through, and just like his own electrical ones had, they would build and build and build until finally they exploded out wards with disastrous consequences. There was only so much that Vlad could do when the line between bitter arch-enemy and barely tolerated conversationalist were paper thin to a mere teenager. This wasn't something he'd had time to factor into any of his plans and he cursed himself for forgetting his own early years of honing his powers. Vlad sighed at his negligence and wrapped his suit jacket around the shaking Danny who looked up in surprise.

His shivers were slowly subsiding and his blue ghost sense was no longer visible as he took slow, calming breaths. "...Glad that's over," Danny sighed. A shiver of relief, rather than of cold, ran through him and he pushed himself up off the ground.

"You don't seem very surprised about this," Vlad raised an eyebrow, "Has it happened before?"

"Erm...just once...earlier today...thought it was just a cold chill, it wasn't that bad though," the boy answered sheepishly, "No big deal," he shrugged.

"I can assure you it is a 'big deal', Daniel, in fact, you can't even begin to understand just how important it is."

"...Okay..." Danny dragged the word out, nervously, "Look, compared to everything else I have to deal with, a little cold chill here and there is the least of my worries."

"So you plan on ignoring it?" Vlad asked, exasperatedly.

"...I...erm...well...I figured...maybe, I'd kinda...yeah, I guess so," he relented.

"You really don't know anything about your ghost powers, do you?"

"I know enough," Danny crossed his arms, obstinately.

"Clearly not, child."

"My name is Danny!" he ground out. Vlad's jacket fell from his shoulders and he tensed.

"Alright, 'Danny', listen to me," Vlad began, in a tone that left no room for arguments, "I speak from experience when I say that ignoring this will be one of the biggest mistakes you could possibly make in regards to your powers."

"Why should I listen to you?"

"Need I remind you I am the world's only expert on ghost-human hybrid physiology?" Vlad replied tersely and Danny frowned. "But, I know you won't believe a word I say, so just know this; this will not simply go away. It's not something you can ignore and when you realise this, you know where to find me."

"I...have no idea what you're talking about," Danny said.

"I know, but you will."

"Creeper," the boy muttered as Vlad retrieved his jacket and walked off without another word. For a moment, Danny wondered whether or no he should follow the older hybrid, but he thought better of it. He wouldn't know what to say for a start, and there was only so much awkwardness he could take for one day. So, instead of going in Vlad's direction, Danny turned away and went in the opposite.

After walking aimlessly for a few minutes though, Danny was sure he was lost, all the trees and pathways looked the same and when he heard a quiet whinnying he thought for sure he was well and truly lost. He approached the sound and found himself nearing the castle again as he passed under an old stone arch covered in moss and ivy to find a large open courtyard with a cobbled ground. It was surrounded on three sides by a structure made of both stone and dark wood and there was three people that Danny could see grooming horses.

"...Okay...this is way better than a swimming pool," he admitted quietly.

His eyes quickly alighted on what he was sure was the worlds' most stunning black horse. It had a long wavy mane and tail with the same feather-like hair above its hooves and there was a young woman wearing riding boots and a dark green uniform, holding the reigns.

"Sir," the woman said, holding out the reigns.

Vlad was walking quickly over the cobbles to take the reigns from her before mounting the horse with agility and ease. "She's in a good mood today," the woman remarked, smoothing down the animal's glossy black coat, "She even let us feed her," she smiled.

"That is good," Vlad replied sarcastically as the horse manoeuvred, its hooves clipping against the stone cobbles.

"For a Friesian she's too temperamental," the woman told him.

"I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree on this, Helena," Vlad shook his head, "I've not found fault with her yet."

"All due respect, sir, you're not the one who has to try and clean out her stables when she's in one of her moods."

Danny could only watch and listen in shock, he'd never seen Vlad partake in small talk of any kind. The man only chuckled and nudged the horse into a slow walk out of the courtyard. So shocked was Danny, that he forgot the hide as Vlad neared the archway and the man glanced down at him.

"Daniel?" he questioned.

"...Hi..." Danny said nervously, "I wasn't following you, I swear, I got lost I think and I..." he blurted out, waving his hands out in front of him.

"Do calm down, boy," Vlad sighed, "I don't need a headache."

"Heh..." Danny laughed sheepishly, "Erm...that's a...a nice horse..."

"I know," the man said, "But don't even think about riding her."

"I don't even know how to ride," Danny shrugged and this seemed to make Vlad think.

"Helena," Vlad called over his shoulder. To Danny it looked as though the man was shouting to an animal, but Helena didn't seem to care as she rolled her eyes and walked across to them.

"Sir?"

"Give Daniel some riding lessons," Vlad ordered, "And Daniel," he added quietly, "If I find any damage to my staff, my horses or my stables I won't be best pleased."

"Got it," Danny nodded. He had no idea why Vlad had suddenly come up with the brain wave of having Danny learn to ride but he didn't want to waste an opportunity. After all, how many people got the chance to ride horses owned by a billionaire?

"I'll be back in half an hour, master the basics by then," the man said, once again heading for the open fields.

"And...if I can't?"

"Then I'll be very surprised," Vlad said simply, nudging the horse into a faster trot, leaving Danny with a bemused looking Helena.

"You heard the man, let's get to work," the woman smiled at him as e glanced back nervously.

* * *

A.N. I just couldn't resist giving Vlad a stables. I know if I had his money and a giant castle with acres of land, I'd certainly have some horses as well. And I did mention horses in my other story, so I guess it can be a positive link to his childhood or something.


	7. The Big, Bad, Green Eyed Monster

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 7: The Big, Bad, Green Eyed Monster**

* * *

Luckily, Danny managed to limit the number of times he fell from his horse to only two. He liked the think that he was nimble and agile, but the fact that he was nervous and that he'd never ridden a horse before both made it difficult for him. Suffice to say that Helena was very amused at his nervousness as she tried continuously to encourage him. More than once, Danny wanted to give up but he was determined to see it through for at least the half hour that Vlad had specified. Not because he wanted to impress the older hybrid, but to prove to himself that he could do it, at least that's what he tried to tell himself.

About fifteen minutes later, Danny was sat in the saddle his a well tempered, Arabian mare with considerably more confidence than what he'd started out with. "So how'd you get stuck working for Vlad?" Danny asked curiously as he stroked the black mane of the chestnut coloured horse, "Is it like a punishment for something?"

"Are you kidding?" Helena scoffed, "People would kill for my job."

"...Huh?" he blinked, "You...like working here?"

"Of course I do; I work with first class horses without having to leave town. Do you have any idea what some of these animals cost? The Friesian he was riding earlier cost about..."

"I don't wanna know!" Danny shook his head quickly.

"I'd never even got to work with one before I started here, they're just that expensive," she told him. "Alright, now turn left," Helena added, standing back, watching as he executed a perfect turn. "Good, you're getting it," she beamed, "Wanna try for a trot now?"

"Erm...that's...running, right?" Danny asked nervously.

"No, a trot is slower than a canter or a gallop, we've got time to work up to those if you want, a trot isn't that much faster than a walk."

"...Okay," he nodded, gripping the reigns.

"Don't tense up, if you don't want to do it just say," Helena said.

"No, I do," Danny protested, "Besides, Vlad won't be happy if I don't try and I have to stay here for two weeks. I'd rather not have to make him mad until at least the last day."

"Let me worry about Mr. Masters, you just concentrate on riding the horse, remember, they can sense fear, so keep calm."

"Yeah, 'cos telling me that's really gonna help," Danny muttered.

"I heard that."

"Good," he shot back with a grin.

"Cheeky kid, aren't you?"

"Wow, and you only figured that out in ten minutes? You are smart," Danny laughed.

"I bet Mr. Masters doesn't appreciate your humour," Helena smirked at him.

"Ah, who cares? He needs someone to talk to him like a real person otherwise his ego'd just get even bigger."

"He'd fire any of us for talking like that."

"Well...we don't exactly get on," the boy admitted.

"But...you're staying here?" she asked curiously. She, like the rest of the castle staff, knew that their employer generally was an isolated man albeit a wealthy, intelligent one, who rarely had visitors to stay, let alone children.

"It's...complicated," Danny sighed.

"Alright, say no more," she replied quickly, "Are we gonna do this trot or not?"

"Yeah," he answered, only to happy to change the subject.

* * *

Jazz was reclining on a soft, ivory coloured chaise lounge in what had been deemed her 'bedroom' for the next two weeks. With the sunlight streaming into the room it was every inch a picture perfect, five star room that many people would kill to spend a night in. Along with all the classic décor there was also the best technology that moment could buy, for instance the flat screen television which had Internet access and a webcam which she was utilising to hold a conversation with Sam and Tucker.

"Hey, guys," she greeted them.

"...Hey...whoa..." Tucker broke off as he saw the room in the background, "Are you at the Ritz?"

"Tucker!" Sam scowled.

"Vlad gave his place a makeover, remember," Jazz sighed.

"Just look at all that stuff, he could help feed a third world country with all the money he wastes! Just how many bedrooms does that place have? Are they all like that?" the goth girl glared.

"I don't know, but that's not why I called."

"Right, right...any fights yet?" Sam asked sagely.

"Not physical fights, no," Jazz answered, "But it's been awkward."

"No duh," Tucker scoffed.

"It doesn't help that Vlad was actually trying to be nice this morning."

"...Vlad...nice..." Sam repeated slowly.

"Yeah...I admit it was weird and Danny kinda freaked but Vlad didn't explode, he just...walked off," the studious red headed shook her head.

"Weird," Sam and Tucker said simultaneously.

"Yeah."

"So where is Danny?" Tucker asked, "No offence but we were sort of expecting him to call."

"He went out looking for Vlad, I said he needed to try and work this thing out," Jazz answered.

"...You may have just signed his death warrant," Sam remarked.

"I don't think so," Jazz shook her head, "I think Vlad wants to get on with Danny but he doesn't want to share him with anyone else and because he knows that's impossible, he doesn't even try."

"...Head rush," Tucker muttered, "You sure you're not over thinking this?"

"I probably am, but I'm doing it for Danny," she replied, "I know Vlad's a dozen times stronger than he is...I mean...you saw him fight that red ghost thing too. I know we can get one over on him here and there, but I think that's because Vlad's never really tried to defeat us. Just think about it, you know what he can do, what he's been through and what he's done, do you really think he'd let any of us get in his way if he really planned to kill us? If he really wanted to I think he'd could get rid of us, including Danny, as easy as squashing a grape."

"You know, we have fought against the fruitloop and won before, right?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Did you hear any of what I just said?" Jazz exclaimed, "I don't want to admit any of it, but it's true. I know Danny's strong but Vlad's stronger, he's had his powers for twenty years - he knows things that we can't even begin to understand and if things got really bad between him and Danny then...I...I really think that Danny...would lose."

"So...you're only on Vlad's side because he's stronger than us?" Tucker said, "Doesn't that make you as manipulative as him?"

"Maybe..." she sighed, "But it's in Vlad's best interests too, at least that's what I tell myself."

"If things get too rough over there, we could take the Spectre Speeder through the Ghost Zone and come get you both," Sam remarked after a moments' thought.

"...How would you...never mind, I don't wanna know," Jazz waved a hand, "But I don't think that'd be a good idea...at least not yet."

"If you say so," Sam shrugged.

"Maybe I should go and find Danny," Jazz pursed her lip, "He has been gone for over twenty minutes now...and if things went south..."

"If things had gone south I think there'd have been an explosion or two by now," Tucker remarked.

"All the same...this place is just so big we agreed to keep our cell phones on so we could find each other," she smiled. "I'll call him and we'll talk later."

"Good luck then," Tucker logged out.

"If Danny's a goner you make sure Vlad knows we'll be coming for him," Sam grinned as she too logged off.

"Like that'll make a difference," Jazz muttered to herself. She took a moment to think about her own conduct in the conflict between her brother and Vlad and if she really was being manipulative. It wasn't a word she liked to credit herself with and in her heart of hearts, she didn't truly think that she was - like Clockwork had, Jazz believed she was acting in Danny's best interests. In all that she'd seen, Vlad seemed to purposefully repress any feelings that he considered 'weak' and in doing so, he'd isolated himself quite successfully but she believed that he really cared about Danny. Why else would he try and teach her brother anything even if he did go about it in all the wrong ways?

She stood from the chaise lounge with renewed energy and took out her phone so that she could find the young hybrid in question.

* * *

Vlad let out a sigh as he surveyed the vast expanse of land before him, the acres upon acres of peaceful grassland filled with quiet groves and streams had been his home for years. The city was barely visible in the distance through the trees and that was how Vlad liked it. With a quiet sound of encouragement and a gentle nudge to his horses' flank he took off, cantering over the fields until the horse was galloping at top speed once again. Unlike everyone else who rode on horseback, Vlad knew he didn't have to worry about falling off and succumbing to injuries, although that certainly hadn't stopped him from riding when he'd been a child. Being able to ride far away from his father's house had been his one escape as a boy and so, on his rise to riches, horses had been one of the first things he'd actively sought out and arguably, he'd gone a little overboard. He had, at present, six horses stabled at his castle all of which had cost a small fortune, especially his favourite, the Friesian mare, and he employed seven people just to care for the animals.

As he neared the castle after the half hour was over, Vlad couldn't help but concentrate his energies on watching the boy's ghost signature for any more abrupt changes. What worried him was the blasé attitude that Danny had towards his powers. Vlad had made concerted efforts to understand his powers, he'd carried out experiments and isolated himself until he fully understood how they worked. In contrast, Danny, like many teenagers, believed that it somehow resolve itself with little to no effort on his part. Although, Vlad had to admit, he'd had the technical knowledge to enable his study of his powers, Danny did not. If the boy had chosen to let Vlad teach him, he would have made sure that that same knowledge was available to him, but it wasn't so simple.

Vlad brought the horse to a slow walk back under the archway and into the courtyard to see Danny smiling as the Arabian mare trotted quickly over the cobbles. He could see that Jazz was also there on her own horse with a young man following the animal and Helena watched them carefully. Not one seemed to notice him as he dismounted his horse and lead it by the reigns across to them.

"Well, I don't see anything broken," he remarked, stroking his horses' muzzle, "Bones or otherwise, so I assume you've done well."

"He's done very well," Helena told him, "They both have."

"Well?" Vlad raised an expectant eyebrow, "How many times did you fall off?" he asked Danny.

"Erm...twice..." the young hybrid admitted sheepishly as he slowed his horse down.

"Really, Daniel, once is bad enough," Vlad lamented.

"Hey, I've never ridden a horse before...and I just have bad luck!"

"I'm almost sorry I didn't stay to see you make a fool of yourself."

"Hah hah," Danny replied dryly.

"And how long have you been here?" Vlad asked Jazz.

"About five minutes," she answered.

"She had to call my cell to just to find me in this maze," Danny muttered but Vlad seemed to ignore the jab at the extravagance in his choice of home.

"Come along then, Daniel," Vlad said, "We'll see just how quickly you actually learn."

"Huh? What?" Danny blinked.

"I think you'll find it much more satisfying riding out in the fields than in an enclosed courtyard," the older hybrid told him.

"But I'm a beginner!"

"You learn quickly and besides, what kind of godfather would I be if I allowed my own godchildren to be injured on my own property?" he grinned.

"...Somehow that's still not very reassuring," Danny muttered back.

"It'll have to do," Vlad replied, "But you could think of it this way if necessary," he added much more quietly, "What possible damage could a horse do that I couldn't inflict on you tenfold?"

"Well, you already zapped me earlier," the young hybrid said quietly.

"I assure you, you'll be perfectly safe," the older hybrid replied.

"Sir, I..." Helena began cautiously as Vlad mounted his horse.

"I don't want to hear it," Vlad cut her off, "Come along, Daniel."

"...Erm...okay..." Danny blinked in confusion, but he decided to do as Vlad said. With one last glance at his sister, Danny tried to assure her that he'd be careful and smart when it came to any further interaction with Vlad, and before he knew it he was riding slowly out into the open fields around the castle.

Danny made sure to ride a short distance behind Vlad's black Friesian and he made a point not to speak unless he was spoken to. It wasn't that he was tying to be to pinnacle of politeness, rather he was trying to avoid any more awkward conversations that would lead to Vlad attacking him. To Danny it was another prolonged example of just how different his life was to other teenagers that he had to even think about being zapped with ectoplasm. In his mind, Danny was sure that he'd had more than enough 'quality time' with Vlad for a whole year let alone a single day but clearly the older hybrid didn't agree with him.

"So, tell me Daniel, how is your school work faring?" Vlad spoke after a few minutes and Danny was taken aback.

"...W...what?" Danny blinked slowly. To say he was confused was a bit of an understatement. Had Vlad Plasmius really just asked him something as mundane as 'how is school' or was he imagining things?

"It's a simple enough question, or didn't I use enough monosyllabic words?" Vlad asked in a dry voice and Danny couldn't help but growl in his automatic frustration.

"I meant," the young hybrid began through gritted teeth, "Why the heck are you asking? Don't you have cameras watching me everywhere anyway? And why do you even care?" Danny took a deep breath as soon as the angry words had left his mouth and he sighed, "Sorry...I just...it's just..." he poorly attempted to explain. In truth he didn't want to admit that it was a knee-jerk reaction for him respond to anything Vlad said with anger and hate but Vlad probably understood without Danny needing to speak.

"A perfectly understandable response to an enemy addressing you," the man said, finishing Danny's unfinished sentence.

"Yeah...that," Danny said, surprised by Vlad's civil and calm response, "This is so weird," he muttered to himself.

"And how do you think I feel?" the man rolled his eyes and Danny blinked.

"Heh heh...y'heard that huh?"

"Daniel, please remember just what I am," Vlad sighed.

"It's not like I'm gonna forget any time s...s...soon..." Danny replied suddenly feeling the cold shivers wrack his body again. "N...not a...again..." he cursed. He managed to bring the horse to a stop as he fought to control the shivers now afflicting him.

"Daniel?"

"I...I'm f...f...fine...it...it'll go away..."

"No, it won't, why won't you listen to me?" Vlad whispered, watching as Danny gritted his teeth.

"L...like you...like you l...listen t...to me..."

"I'm your superior."

"J...jerk..."

Vlad waited until Danny's shivers subsided and watched as the boy shrugged off its affects as though in a nonchalant manner. Vlad decided it was best not to bring up the subject again, he wouldn't mention it until Danny needed his help badly enough to ask for it, which, knowing him, would be a long time in coming. Fortunately though, Vlad was a patient man.

"So...erm..." Danny began a while later, the silence once again making things unbearable for him.

"Yes?"

"I've...I've been meaning to ask...some things Clockwork showed me...are you, I mean...you were hospitalised for two whole years...and I wasn't," he said uneasily. It was better for him to focus on something else quickly, because if e didn't, he'd be left to dread just why he'd had another cold spell and what they were. And he didn't want to focus on that.

"Your point?" Vlad snapped, his mood suddenly souring.

"Were you...are you...jealous?" Danny asked and Vlad blinked.

For a long time it had bothered him, one more than one occasion it had almost driven him mad just thinking about it and dwelling on the raging fury inside him. He'd known from a young age that life wasn't fair, he understood that bad things happened no matter who or what you were. But what he couldn't understand was why Daniel didn't have to endure the two long years of agony and isolation that he'd been forced to suffer. It just wasn't fair. Daniel had everything he'd wanted as a child; a father that loved him. A mother that didn't feel responsible for bringing a child into a home ruled by an abusive patriarch. A loving, normal relative, in the form of his sister, that was constantly there for him and not being constantly dragged off back to the old country. And, last but by no means least, Daniel hadn't suffered nearly as much as Vlad had when he'd been developing his powers.

But perhaps it was better that way; he wasn't sure when exactly he'd begun to think that. If it came down to it, would he really want Danny to go through what he'd had to, completely alone? No, he didn't. Not Daniel.

"Don't be ridiculous, Daniel," Vlad scoffed, shaking his head and urging his horse onwards.


	8. Vlad's Hidden Traits

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 8: Vlad's Hidden Traits **

* * *

It turned out that Vlad was better at looking out for Danny than the young hybrid had first believed him capable; at least while he was riding a horse. He was also, Danny was forced to admit, a good teacher. It didn't take long for Vlad to shrug away their earlier conversation and begin to instruct him on how to properly gallop. It quickly became clear to both of them that Danny loved to gallop as much as Vlad did.

He rode ahead in the woodland, the horse practically flying over the ground as it leapt over brambles and roots. "Keep up, old man!" he called back with a smile.

"I heard just about enough of those insults!" Vlad replied, Danny was only able to hear over the roaring winds due to his ghostly enhanced hearing.

"You'll have to catch me if you want me to stop," the young hybrid laughed, urging the horse to run even faster.

Danny turned his attention once more to what was in front of him so he failed to see that Vlad had vanished from behind and shot out from his right a minute later. It also surprised the horse he was riding and Danny had to pay close attention not to fall of the startled animal.

"You were saying?" Vlad smirked.

"Whoa!" Danny yelled, jumping out of his skin, "Don't...don't do that! How did you do that, anyway?" he asked once the horse had calmed down.

"I know these woods much better than you," the man said simply.

"So?"

"So, I could navigate them safely with my eyes closed. And I have more riding experience as well."

"Yeah," Danny muttered, "That helps," he added and continued to gently stoke the horses' mane in a calming manner.

"But...considering you learnt more than most in a few short hours, I don't think it matters."

"...Huh?" Danny blinked, so unused to hearing any sort of positive comment from this man.

"I mean; you did very well," Vlad reiterated as his horse moved on ahead through the woods.

"I heard you, it's just..." the young hybrid furrowed his brow. "You're not a bad teacher, y'know," he muttered a minute later as he caught up slowly to Vlad, "So...err...who, erm, who taught you?"

"My mother," Vlad answered.

"Oh."

"I expect that your friend Clockwork showed you something of her life as well," the man said stoically.

"...Yeah...maybe," Danny admitted warily.

"Hmm," Vlad hummed.

Neither half ghost said anything further as they cleared the woods and moved slowly out into the open. With the woodland behind them, the imposing castle to the left and the city far ahead to the right with miles and miles of mostly flat grassland in between. Danny wondered just how much distance was between them and the city for it seemed to stretch on forever.

"Don't you ever get lonely out here?" Danny couldn't help but ask.

"No," Vlad answered quickly, gently moving the horse towards the castle.

"It looks lonely," the young hybrid remarked, looking back at the city which almost appeared microscopic from the distance. "You have a cousin, right? Don't you talk to her or your uncle?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, you never mentioned them...I mean, I never expected you to, but I've never seen them visit you before or anything," Danny shrugged.

"I haven't seen or spoken to them for...at least ten years now," Vlad shook his head, "Ten years," he repeated incredulously.

"Time flies when you're plotting world domination, huh?" the boy said daringly.

"It appears so," the older hybrid replied calmly.

"Maybe you should call them."

"You're treading on thin ice, Daniel, I suggest you drop that thought," Vlad scowled menacingly and Danny frowned.

"...Erm...okay then," he muttered, not wanting to ruin to relative calm they had established. "...Vlad...I...can I ask you something?"

"That depends entirely on the subject," Vlad replied.

"Well, see, Jazz thinks that people should talk about things," the boy began, "I think she's just crazy most of the time..."

"Get to the point."

"Right...erm...the point...well, I wanted to know...were you serious when you said that you...leave all your stuff to me when you..if you...y'know?"

"Why? Planning to overthrow me?"

"No..." Danny yelled quickly.

"I was perfectly serious," Vlad answered him, "I actually made the will years before we began our...feud, I think you would have been four or five years old at the time."

"But that's just even more confusing," the young hybrid shook his head, "You didn't even know me then."

"It's probably best that you don't hear my reasoning for it."

"I think I should," Danny said quickly, "Since I'm liking the whole honesty thing...and I kind of have a right to know, don't I?"

Vlad pursed his lip for a moment as Danny looked across at him expectantly. He didn't know exactly why he was choosing to be so 'honest' with the boy but he did have to admit that he found it a novel experience.

"I wanted to make sure that you and your sister would be properly cared for in the event of your parents...absence," he spoke emotionlessly after a minute.

"What d'you mean?" Danny asked, suddenly seeing the creased photograph that Vlad kept hidden in his wallet. He knew it would be foolish to mention it though.

"I've already told you that I can't stop pursuing my revenge and if it came to a fight to the death between me and your parents, who do you think would win?"

Danny sighed and turned away, he knew full well that Vlad could probably take out the worlds' toughest fighters and armies, never mind his parents but he didn't want to admit it aloud. Luckily, he didn't have to because Vlad continued, "On the other hand, though, I could be defeated or my power could annihilate the three of us. Of course, I don't think for a moment that I'd ever lose but I like to be prepared for every outcome no matter how improbable it seems."

"Nice to know," Danny grumbled. He wasn't too happy to hear Vlad so casually discussing the murder of his parents.

"Naturally though, things changed when I discovered your secret. I have no one else to leave it all to anyway," he shrugged elegantly. "And if I'm honest, I'd rather you have my wealth than anyone else."

This admission naturally knocked Danny for six and all he could do was stare open mouthed in astonishment at the older hybrid. "Do close your mouth, dear boy, that's hardly a dignified look," Vlad remarked with a raised eyebrow. "Now, come along, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry," he said.

* * *

After the three of them had eaten, Vlad spent the rest of the day in his study staring at paperwork or scrunching up stray pieces of paper, tossing them into the air and incinerating each one with small shot of ectoplasm. He only saw Danny and Jazz again for supper that night. Danny wondered just why Vlad was hiding away in his study but he thought it best not to pry. He didn't want to get on Vlad's bad side if he could help it, at least not for the next two weeks.

What Danny didn't know, was that what he had said before had turned out to be ironic. Danny had said that Vlad needed to talk to his relatives, but, in the end, it was his relatives who called him. That afternoon, in fact.

"Vlad?" his cousin Valya spoke somewhat nervously over the phone.

"Valya?" he frowned. He'd been expecting a call from a business associate, not his cousin.

"Long time," she remarked, "Ten years, actually."

"Ten years," he repeated.

"A very, very long ten years," Valya said, "A lot has changed."

"Has it?"

"Hmm, I know, I know, you don't like the small talk," she laughed, "So...I erm...I was wondering...can I...can I visit you?"

"...I beg your pardon?" Vlad blinked in shock.

"I want to see you. I want to talk to you...We used to be so close. I've already seen Aunty, I want to see you too."

"Why now?"

"There is a lot to explain," she sighed, "I'd rather tell you in person. My father is with me, he'd like to see you too."

"...Alright," Vlad said, still surprised, "You...you know where I..."

"I know you live in a castle, Vladdie, I'm sure I will find it," she said. "It is good to speak to you again, I missed you."

"When will you get here?"

"Tomorrow night, I think...if that is alright."

"I'll see you then," he said and they said their goodbyes.

Vlad leant back in his cushioned desk chair and steepled his fingers with his elbows propped on the arm rests. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't completely shocked. He hadn't expected to ever see his cousin again and he had no idea what could ha prompted her to contact him after so many years but he knew that he'd soon find out.

* * *

As night fell, Danny noticed that he was feeling increasingly cold but when he looked at Jazz and saw that she showed no signs of being even chilly, he knew that it wasn't the ambient temperature that was the problem. It was him. He chose not to say anything to his sister and as he climbed into his large bed he pulled the extra covers over him but they made little difference.

It seemed to take hours just to fall asleep but when he did it wasn't to last. He didn't remember what exactly he dreamt about but the next thing he knew, Vlad was shaking him awake in the dark.

"Daniel, wake up!" the man ordered, "Control yourself!"

"I...I...I can't...it's...it's...t...too c...c...cold..." he managed to whisper, his teeth chattering and his limbs freezing.

Danny noticed that Vlad was emitting a faint red glow and that same glow had spread to his own body as well. "W...what is...is this?" he asked, looking up at Vlad.

"I'm trying to help you," he said quickly, keeping a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"What...what's...h...happening?"

"Your ghost core is destabilising, your new power are clearly ice based," Vlad explained, "If you don't stop you could freeze the entire castle."

"W...what d'you..." Danny looked around to see that his room was coated with ice and snow. No wonder he'd been so cold. "D...did I...I do that?" he asked.

"Yes, now calm down and control yourself."

"I don't even...I...don't..." Danny stuttered as he curled up under the covers and shivered violently.

"Look at me, Daniel," Vlad said.

"It...I can't s...stop it..."

"You have to."

"I...c...can't..."

"Try harder."

"I...I..." he breathed, shaking his head as he saw his own breath before his eyes.

"Daniel..."

"No!" Danny yelled loudly and suddenly the oppressive cold just vanished.

The young hybrid blinked in confusion and let out a sigh of disbelief with a smile, "Vlad, it's..." he turned to Vlad only to be stunned into silence again. "V...Vlad..." Danny blinked, "Vlad?" he frowned and stood from the bed slowly.

He made small, cautious movements around Vlad who was now frozen in a block of solid ice.

"Danny, what..." Jazz burst into the room wearing her pyjamas and dressing gown, "Holy..." she breathed.

"Jazz...I didn't mean...I didn't..." Danny stammered.

"How did..."

"I...I don't know, but...how are we gonna..." he began but Vlad's eyes began to glow blood red and the ice encasing him suddenly exploded from the inside out and he fell to his knees, breathing heavily.

"Vlad!" Danny yelled, "Are you okay?" he asked as the older hybrid clenched his eyes shut and held his head with one hand. Vlad coughed and began to stand on weak legs before he looked Danny straight in the eyes. "I didn't mean..." Danny began.

"I warned you about this." Vlad lamented.

"I know...I'm...I'm sorry, I didn't..."

"Why don't you ever listen?"

"Vlad, I..." Danny tried to speak again, but Vlad held up his hand.

"Daniel, listen to me, I don't care what you think, I don't care whether you like it or not; you need training. You need to learn to control your abilities."

"I have control!"

"Clearly not! Look around you!" Vlad snapped, "If I wasn't what I was, how would you have gotten me out?"

"I would've..."

"You need to let me help you."

"You were the one who said you wouldn't," Danny pointed out.

"Well, now I'm changing my mind," Vlad scowled angrily and walked back towards the door,"We'll start in the morning," he said before he left the room, "Good night."

* * *

The second he closed Danny's door behind him, Vlad floated down to his lab and deposited a small piece of melting ice onto a microscopic plate. He'd kept it in his trouser pocket which was why it was melting so he wanted to examine it quickly.

Anything created by a ghost had a unique cellular structure from its naturally occurring counterpart like as the fire created by dragon ghosts. Things burned by such fire, although ending in blackened ash, ended up with an altered microscopic structure as he'd discovered. So, Vlad was curious to see just what had gone into creating this ice.

* * *

"So...are you gonna explain just what that was?" Jazz asked her brother as she sat down on the bed and flicked on the bedside lamp. Danny and Vlad may have excellent night vision, but she didn't.

"...I erm...I think I got a new ghost power," he said heavily, "And I turned Vlad into a human icicle...I thought he was gonna flip."

"We're lucky he managed to do...whatever it was he did to get out," she remarked.

"Yeah...I really didn't mean to..." Danny muttered and sat down slowly besides his sister. "I didn't think it was this serious," he admitted, "...Vlad did."

"He knows what he's talking about, I guess," she said kindly.

"Yeah," he repeated, "...You really think he's gonna train me?"

"It sure sounded like he meant it."

"I know but what I mean is, d'you think he'll come up with some kind of last minute catch? He's never changed his mind about this. He said he never would."

"He's never been frozen before," Jazz said dryly.

"Didn't stop him for long though," Danny sighed, "Even if I do manage to control this thing...he'll still be stronger than me, won't he?"

"I'm sorry to say, I think that's a given, little brother," she smiled, ruefully.

"Guess I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"There's always a choice. But Vlad knows what you're going through, no one else does. He can help you more than we can."

"I don't wanna freeze any of you guys...I don't even know how we'd..."

"Then we'd best hope Vlad's a good teacher, hadn't we?"

"Mmm," he nodded.

"Maybe we should try and get rid of all this ice," she suggested, glancing around the room in trepidation.

"How?"

"Luckily you have ghost powers."

"Oh, right...duh," he rolled his eyes.


	9. Matters of Family

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 9: Matters of Family**

* * *

"Honestly, Daniel, you're not going to learn this in one day, no matter how much you try," Vlad told him and Danny sighed.

"Is that a challenge, cheesehead?" the boy asked.

"For the tenth time, no; it is a fact," he said simply, "You're not going to be able to freeze that target by simply staring at it, at least not yet."

"Why not?"

"Because you don't have any control over it yet."

"Isn't that why I'm here?"

"Exactly, so kindly stop staring at that target and face me," Vlad said with his arms crossed.

"How do I know you're not gonna attack me as soon as I do?"

"Surely you know me well enough to know that if I was going to attack you, I'd have no problems doing so when your back is turned."

"...Good point," Danny pursed his lip.

"Yes, I thought so," Vlad said smugly as Danny slowly turned in mid air and promptly began to shiver.

"O...oh...g...great..." the boy stuttered as he wrapped his arms around himself.

"Well, I suppose we should start by stopping your shivering," Vlad tilted his head.

"And...and how am I...s...supposed t...to do t...that, g...genius?"

"I suggest that you simply do what you did last night."

"What?

"I confess, I have no experience with powers such as these, but all ghost powers work on the same principles. If you keep trying to suppress this power it won't end well for you, I guarantee it."

"Great...a...and if I do t...that...I...I'll f...freeze you...a...again..."

"I am prepared this time, and even if you do manage it, I will be able to escape as I did before," Vlad said calmly. "But if you want this to continue then..."

"No...no...I...I don't...but I can't..."

"You don't have a choice."

"T...that's r...r...really...c...comforting..."

"Comfort is a luxury you can't afford now," the older hybrid replied quickly. "Until you learn to control this, you'll be a danger to everyone around you," he added, unnecessarily.

"I know t...that!"

"Then listen to what I'm telling you and stop repressing this energy."

"I...I'm t...trying..." Danny muttered weakly.

"Try harder. If you don't release it you could end up freezing yourself, that it if it doesn't destroy you."

"R...really...n...not...h...h...helping...h...here..."

"Or...is it that you can't even do the simplest of things?" Vlad asked, raising an eyebrow with a covert grin.

"W...what d...do..."

"Well, you are only a child, you may be half ghost, but you're no stronger than any other pathetic child."

"What?!"

"I suppose I should have known better than to think I could teach a child of Jack Fenton's anything at all," Vlad said, suddenly sounding like his usual, unfeeling self as an idea formed in his mind. Anger had always been the only catalyst that had worked when he'd been learning to control his own powers and the boy had been somewhat angry and confused when he'd released the pent up ice energy the previous night. He knew he needed to get Danny to release the energy that building up as fast as possible and he only knew one way to do that.

"H...hey...w...what's my...d...dad..g...got to d...do with..."

"I had hoped that having Maddie for a mother would be enough to redeem what little intellect you possessed...apparently not. How disappointing."

"W...what..."

"Such a shame, after all you are the only other hybrid on the planet, and as you've already pointed out, that is the only reason I haven't killed you already. If you can't even control what you are though, it seems pointless to let you live any longer," Vlad remarked, before a bolt of crackling purple ectoplasm appeared in his right hand. "You've provided more entertainment than I first thought you capable, but it seems as though you've outlived your usefulness," he said, taking slow, predatory steps towards the shivering ghost boy.

"V...Vlad...w...what are y...you..." Danny backed away clumsily.

"Good bye, Daniel," Vlad grinned, raising his hand.

"N...no...don't!" the young hybrid cried instinctively, remember ping every time he'd been on the receiving end of Vlad's powers. Shocked out of his trance, Danny had little time to think about even attempting to control his new powers and thought of protecting Vlad had vanished to be replaced with an emphatic need for self preservation. Before he knew it, he'd closed his eyes and unleashed a wave of ice cold energy covering everything in the lab with a thick dusting of ice and snow, including himself and Vlad.

It was over in a matter of seconds and when Danny noticed that he was no longer shivering, he opened his eyes and saw just what he'd done. It was like looking at a frozen, winter wonderland. Everything from the test tubes to the books and computers was frozen solid and the shelves had icicles hanging from them, as did the tables and the chairs and the work surfaces. Everything he could see, expect Vlad, he noticed, was frozen. Vlad was safely not frozen, behind a ghost shield of his own making, though it did hold up a light dusting of frost. Behind it, Vlad himself was coated in the same sprinkling of frost and he lowered his shield.

"Very well done. Daniel, any longer and I was sure you'd have done some serious damage to yourself," Vlad said, brushing ice crystals and snow from his shoulders in a nonchalant manner. "Still, better late than never. I seem to recall you being much easier to rile up in our fights, either I'm out of practice or you're getting better at hiding your anger," he added.

"What...you...you mean you only said all that to get me to...so I'd..." Danny furrowed his brow as Vlad raised an expectant eyebrow, "Oh...thanks...I guess..." he muttered.

"And just in time too, if we'd left it any later you could have frozen the entire castle. Look at my lab!"

"Erm...sorry..." Danny gulped quietly.

"I should hope so," the man inclined his head and raised both hands. Each one was quickly engulfed in red, glowing energy which expanded to encompass the whole room, melting the ice in seconds and raising the temperature back to normal.

"...That's handy," the boy couldn't help but remark.

"You feel better now, I trust?" Vlad asked while the room warmed.

"...Yeah, how'd you..."

"When I first developed my electrical abilities I discovered that in attempting to control it by repression, I'd created a very bad situation. But, by the time I realised that, it was too late. In releasing them I created a storm that lasted for almost three days and left me bedridden for over a week," he answered, his hands losing their red glow now that the room was back to normal.

"You made a three day storm?" Danny blinked, standing up.

"I did, and though I loathe to think of the circumstances, I have to admit it was a near perfect storm."

"You would say that."

"I believe it was called the worst storm of the century," Vlad said.

"That's probably not something you should be proud of," Danny sighed.

"Probably not."

"Could you do something like that now?"

"Why would I want to?"

"I don't know, I just wanted to know," Danny snapped.

"I could easily make a storm to last for at least a month if I wanted to, let alone three days now...Ghost powers only improve with time," he added.

"A month?" the boy gasped, "Really?"

"That is only a rough guess though, I've never actually tried to make a month long storm, you know. But I don't think it would be a problem," Vlad said and Danny scoffed in disbelief. "Don't believe me?" he asked.

"No, I do...that the problem," Danny grumbled.

"Hmmm," Vlad hummed, "Well, at least now we should be able to focus on controlling your powers now that they're not controlling you."

"And how am I meant to do that?"

"Have you forgotten so quickly how you coped when your powers first started to develop?" Vlad raised an eyebrow.

"Course not! But this is different. I can turn people into Popsicles and they wouldn't be able to get out of it!"

"You could also have vaporised them when you first used an ectoplasmic attack," Vlad pointed out.

"Not helping," Danny groaned.

"Maybe not, but I have seen ghosts use ice powers before, that gives you an advantage that I never had."

"What d'you mean by that?" the young hybrid asked.

"Electrical manipulation is not a common ability in ghosts, and besides, there were no working ghost portals when I was young, remember? I'd never even seen a ghost at the time I got my powers."

"Oh, right," Danny frowned. He couldn't image what it would have been like to realise that he was a ghost when there were no others to model his powers after. At least that way he'd been able to see what they did and attention to make his own work in a similar way.

"So, the target," Vlad began after a light cough, "Freeze it and nothing else around it."

"Are you sure about..."

"Just do it."

Danny sighed reluctantly and turned his attention to the very same target he'd been staring at earlier and thought about nothing except freezing it. He wasn't sure that it would work at all, but he did admit that he needed to learn control. He couldn't go around freezing people.

"Whoa...it actually worked...well...kinda..." Danny laughed nervously a moment later. What he'd actually done was freeze the target, which he'd meant to, but he'd also frozen the ground around it and the wall behind it in solid ice as well, "...Whoops..."

"It's a start," Vlad acquiesced, and walked over to thaw out the target. "Maybe this time you should...oh...bitter biscuits..." he suddenly stopped.

"What? What's the problem?" Danny asked, floating over to him,

"My cousin," Vlad stated simply.

"Huh?"

"She's coming here...tonight..."

"What, really? I know I said you should get in touch but I didn't really think you'd..."

"I did no such thing, Daniel, but she did...and I've no idea why," Vlad admitted.

"But of a coincidence she called you now, huh?"

"Sometimes coincidences do just happen," the older hybrid said to him.

"Yeah, I know, but still," Danny shrugged.

"Which means you need to be in control of this by the time she gets here," Vlad turned his red eyed attention to Danny.

"What? No way, there's no way I can..."

"You have to, but if you need more motivation," the hybrid trailed off, his eyes glowing dangerously.

"No, no, that's fine, I'll do it...really," Danny held up his hands in an attempt to calm the man down.

"Good."

"So...when you said earlier that I wasn't gonna learn this in one day..." the young teenager frowned, "It **was** a challenge?"

"If it makes you feel any better about this then, yes," Vlad agreed.

"But if I can't control it by tonight?"

"Then the remainder of your stay here will be most unpleasant."

"And...if I do?" Danny asked.

"Never mind that, just focus," Vlad ordered and Danny sighed.

"Fine," he rolled his eyes, knowing that it was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Danny?" Jazz questioned hours later. She'd looked high and low for her brother, only for Vlad to find her wandering the castle and was not to disturb Danny but of course, like a true Fenton, she hadn't listened. "Why are you staring at that thing like that?" she asked.

"Because if I don't focus, Vlad's gonna make me regret the day I was born...or something, I dunno, all his threats just kinda sound the same now," Danny shrugged, still not turning to look at her.

"Yeah, I noticed," she replied dryly, walking over to her brother, "So...how did the...training go?"

"Erm...fine...I guess..." the young hybrid muttered nervously, lowering his eyes from the target.

"Except..." his sister prompted gently.

"Except...I kinda am...sorta...froze the lab...and well...he made me angry to make me...stop trying to control my ice powers..."

"He...made you angry?"

"Yeah...which isn't really that hard for him."

"Danny, it's not that hard for anyone," Jazz smiled.

"Anyway," he grit his teeth, "...He made me angry...and then it was like nothing had ever happened...and then her remembered that his cousin was coming tonight and..."

"Wait, what? His cousin?"

"Yeah...oh...right...I guess he didn't tell you either...erm...his cousin's coming tonight?" he said meekly.

"I got that, but why?"

"Vlad says she called him and if I can't control these stupid new ice powers by then he's gonna do something really bad," Danny explained.

"His cousin...Valya, right?"

"Yeah, I think so...it's gonna be really weird, isn't it? Vlad's bad enough without adding more of his family," he sighed, "Like things aren't awkward enough as it is."

"It might be interesting," Jazz said.

"Lemme guess...this is the perfect opportunity for you to do some psychology snooping, right?"

"Not snooping," she frowned, "But it'll still be interesting."

"If you say so, Jazz, if you say so," Danny rolled his eyes and sent ice sparks from his hands at the target, almost hitting it rather than the poor wall behind it, almost.

* * *

It was late in the evening when Valya's car arrived at the castle, bringing not only herself, but her uncle, his mother in law and her young daughter, of course, Vlad knew none of this until his mother walked through the door first.

"Mother...I...Valya didn't say that you were..." he said in surprise.

"I asked her not to," Rosalyn replied as Alexei worked on bringing in their luggage which was no small feat.

"Why?"

"I wanted to surprise you," she shrugged and turned her attention to Danny and his sister. "You, I assume are Daniel?" she raised an eyebrow in a suspiciously, Vlad-like manner.

"Err...yeah..." Danny muttered nervously and promptly tried again when Jazz covertly nudged him with her elbow, "Yes, m'am...this is Jazz...my sister," he added.

Rosalyn only smiled kindly as Valya came into the foyer with a young girl at her side. The girl was the spitting image of her mother with the same blonde hair and blue eyes which they both shared with Vlad.

Vlad could only stare at the girl as his cousin watched him expectantly, "Vlad, it's good to see you...this is my daughter...Viktoria..."

"Oh, boy," Danny muttered to his sister.

"Shhh," Jazz hissed.

"Your daughter?" Vlad repeated.

"Your niece," she remarked.

"I...technically, she's my cousin once removed, but I..." he said in a stupor.

"So you are not my uncle?" the girl, Viktoriya asked him in heavily accented English.

"No."

"Oh, I wanted an uncle," she said.

"...I have finalised the divorce only last week and I thought..." Valya began.

"You married?"

"And divorced," Valya repeated.

"I see."

"You didn't even know, did you?" she sighed.

"No," he admitted sadly and they fell into an uncomfortable silence.

"Viktoria, why don't you go upstairs and find yourself a room?" Valya said to her.

"Are we staying, then?" she asked.

"That depends on my cousin," her mother replied, looking back at Vlad.

"Daniel, Jasmine, take...Viktoria upstairs," Vlad said quickly.

"But I..." Danny began.

"That's not a request!" Vlad repeated sternly and Danny gulped.

"Right," he nodded and dragged his sister away quickly while giving a nervous smile to the girl now staring at them. "Erm...it's...it's this way...come on," he said before the three left the foyer.

"Those children..." Valya began.

"Daniel and Jasmine are my godchildren, yes," Vlad said.

"You never said..."

"You never said I had a cousin once removed, either," he shot back.

"I tried!" she cried, "When I was pregnant with Viktoria I called you to tell you but you wouldn't listen to me!"

"...What?" Vlad blinked.

"I called to tell you because I wanted you to be her godfather but you wouldn't listen. You said you were too busy! Too busy to even listen to me for five minutes!"

"...But that was..."

"I never got to tell you because you put down the phone before I could!"

"I did?" he questioned before it all suddenly came back to him, "I did," he repeated with some reluctance, "I remember..."

"Good, because you had some nerve," his uncle narrowed his eyes.

"And you didn't seem interested in talking to me anyway," Valya said.

"I need a drink," Vlad remarked after a moment, "Close the door," he waved a hand and lead the way through into the main living room.

* * *

"So...erm..." Danny began awkwardly as he and his sister lead the young Viktoria through the castle, "You're Vlad's...cousin once removed, huh?"

"Da," she nodded, "And you are his godson...What is he like?"

"Well, we...he...err...hey look...here's a bedroom," he broke off quickly, and opened the door to one of the rooms he was fairly sure was a bedroom.

"Smooth," Jazz whispered to him as Viktoria entered the room.

"Shut it," he grumbled back.

"You know him well, then, well enough to be visiting?" the young girl asked, looking around the elaborately decorated room. It was complete with a four poster bed, oak desk and chair, bookshelves, and a large television like the other bedrooms.

"Erm...well...it's...it's complicated," Danny sighed.

"Why is this?"

"Well, I actually only met him a few years ago...and we didn't exactly...get on," he said evasively.

"But...now you do?"

"I'm...not sure," Danny admitted.

"You are...not sure?" Viktoria repeated, confused, "I...am not understanding you."

"Neither do I," he muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing, erm...anyway...the room...you like it?"

"It is very nice," she answered, "But very...grown up," she added after some thought.

"Yeah, this whole place is like that, Vlad needs some video games," Danny said.

"Maybe he will buy me one as present for birthdays he missed," Viktoria smiled.

"I like the way you think," he laughed.


	10. Old Wounds and New

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 10: Old Wounds and New**

* * *

The living room was dark with the thick curtains drawn but the roaring fire, which seemed to burn every night without fail whether the room was used or not, provided more than enough light as well as the lamps scattered about the room, illuminating the rich fabrics and elaborate furniture.

Valya, her father and Rosalyn waited silently and patiently as Vlad closed the door to the room and walked, without thinking to the drinks cabinet where he poured himself a rather generous amount of whiskey. He stood drinking, leaning against the cabinet, not knowing what to say to the people sitting behind him. The thought that his cousin, the only person his age that he'd ever really been close to, had married, given birth and divorced all without his knowledge both surprised and angered him. It surprised him because he'd thought he knew everything and it angered him because she hadn't thought to even invite him to the wedding, but then be never had been a fan of weddings ever since his brief appearance at Jack and Maddie's own wedding. And she had called him after Viktoria's birth, he just hasn't listened to a word she said.

And indeed why should be have listened; he'd been exceptionally busy nine years ago, far too busy to play 'happy families.' Even now he wasn't sure why he was going along with things, namely with Daniel, but he had no idea what would have prompted Valya to contact him again. Why hadn't he simply told her not to bother when she'd called? Why had he agreed to let her stay in his castle? Vlad had no idea, none whatsoever.

"Are you going to talk or just stand there?" Valya asked him with a sigh.

"What am I supposed to say?" he shrugged, slowly turning around, the glass tumbler in his hand.

"How about 'I am sorry for not caring enough to write'?" Valya suggested.

"I didn't have the time," he replied.

"And yet you seem to have the time for those two american children," Valya shot back.

"They are my godchildren," Vlad raised an eyebrow.

"And Viktoria is your family by blood; we are your family. Does that mean nothing?" she emphasised and he turned to look away.

"I didn't even know she existed," Vlad told her.

"Don't try and make this my fault. Maybe if you'd cared at all you would have," Valya replied coldly. "I tried to talk to you, I tried more times than I can remember but you didn't let me. You never called once. Not once. You didn't care."

"Valya," Rosalyn warned carefully.

"No, she's right," Vlad cut her off, "I didn't care."

"You don't sound like you care now either," Alexei pointed out, "Do you?"

"...I don't know," he admitted.

"You are selfish and cold, just like your father," Valya sneered and Vlad's lip twitched in disgust. "I don't know why I let you talk me into this, Aunty..."

"What?" Vlad asked, his eyes trailing back to narrow at his cousin, "What did you just say to me?"

"I say you are just like uncle Vladislav," she said with confidence and Rosalyn sighed with a sad look beside her.

"How dare you," he breathed quietly, "How dare you compare me to him."

"Well, you are like him, you even look as I remember him," she defended.

"Valya, I don't think..." her father frowned.

"Get out," Vlad snarled, his anger bubbling out of control at the mere thought of his father. It was bad enough that Clockwork's scheming had brought all of his childhood memories to the fore, he didn't need Valya adding to his nightmares as well. And the thought of comparing himself to his father was enough to make him sick, sick and extremely angry.

"What?" Valya turned quickly from her father to her cousin who now looked furious in the firelight.

"I said, get out! Get out of my house!" he yelled suddenly, his voice echoing in the room. His grip on the half empty glass tightened and it was crushed in his hand with ease, the shattered pieces falling to the floor along with small droplets of blood but he didn't seem to care or even notice. It would heal very quickly after all.

"Vlad, your hand," his mother pointed out, concerned, but she went unnoticed.

"You see, now you sound even like him...so angry," Valya stood up, "Is like listening to him shout at you again."

"That's enough!"

"No, it is not, maybe you should think about this!" she yelled back. "How do you think I felt when you refuse to even speak to me for ten years?! Ten years, Vlad! We were so close. You were my best friend! I wanted you to be there for my child, I needed you when I was divorced and you weren't there...and I hate you for that!"

"What I went through was far more serious than a simple divorce," Vlad scoffed. "I had nothing..."

"You left willingly!"

"I had no choice!" he yelled. "I couldn't live under the same roof as that...that man anymore. Scraping by on little more than minimum wage was the more preferable option by far, believe me."

"Vlad..." Valya sighed.

"Oh, for crying out loud, not you too, don't give me that look, Valya," Vlad rolled his eyes, "Pity is the last thing I need."

"I cannot help it," she replied stubbornly.

"Then go back to being angry."

"I do not wish to be angry at you," Valya said, walking over to him and reaching out for his hand that he'd cut on the glass. "Let me see," she said.

"It's nothing," he replied quickly, hiding his already healed hand behind his back, "It didn't cut the skin."

"But I saw..."

"I said, it's fine," he snapped.

"And I say it is not," she said with just as much force and stubbornness. She moved quickly and trapped his wrist, pulling it forwards and turning his hand over to look down at his palm. There was still wet blood on his pale skin but no cut, nothing whatsoever. He knew that, even in the dim light, she would quickly see that after the blood was cleaned away.

"Here, Valya, let me," Rosalyn stood quickly, pulling a clean handkerchief from her bag and taking Valya's place before she had a chance to observe the lack of wounds.

Vlad's eyes snapped up at his mother's sudden reaction and she gave him a look of silent understanding. Though the ever perceptive Rosalyn Masters didn't know the nature of Vlad's powers, she knew that he was...different, to say the least. Vlad wasn't exactly sure just how much she knew and this always disturbed him greatly. As she wiped the blood from his hand she clearly saw that there was no wound but she said nothing as he wrapped the cloth around his palm as though there was a cut.

"I...I am sorry, Vlad...for shouting at you...and for..." Valya began

"It doesn't matter," he relied, tearing his searching eyes from his mother's calm gaze, "I've heard it all before," he added.

"I really am..." Valya tried again.

"It's late," Vlad cut her off, "If you still wish to stay then I suggest that you get some rest," he said.

"But I..."

"I insist," he emphasised.

"Maybe it's for the best," Rosalyn said calmly, "You might have your work cut out in getting Viktoria to sleep when there's an entire castle to explore."

"...Fine," Valya sighed, "Fine," she shook her head and walked slowly towards the door, "But we will talk in the morning," she warned him before leaving to find her daughter. She was followed soon after by her father prior to a glance from Rosalyn and the wife of Vladislav Masters was left alone with her only son in the silence.

Vlad peered across at her surreptitiously and, after making sure that they were alone, he began to unwrap the useless, makeshift bandage on his hand. "Well...aren't you curious?" he asked her after revealing to her his unmarred palm.

"Naturally," she replied simply.

"Why did you..." Vlad began to ask.

"It seemed important to you," Rosalyn answered.

"Are you sure that you don't know..."

"Of course I don't. How am I supposed to know what you refuse to tell me?"

"Then how..."

"I know **you**; you're my son, I know you, as person, better than anyone," she said shrewdly and he hummed. "And you don't like that fact, do you?" she couldn't help but ask.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Vlad frowned.

"Nothing, of course...nothing at all," his mother smiled kindly.

"So, what about...father...won't he be joining this little family reunion of yours? Valya did say that this was your doing, didn't she?"

"You really don't need me to tell you that he isn't interested at all, do you? And yes, I suggested that Valya come and visit you. You see...her divorce took its toll and I'd rather she not be alone."

"She isn't alone. She has her father...her mother, you and the girl," Vlad pointed out.

"Viktoria," Rosalyn corrected. "And Valya's mother is still in Russia."

"How is she?" he felt compelled to ask.

"She's fine, she's too stubborn to leave, but Valya won't go back, at least not yet. Too many memories from her marriage, she says. She never should have married him, they were very ill-matched."

"Indeed?"

"Oh yes," she nodded heavily, sitting back down gently, "But we both know that that doesn't often stop people, does it?" she asked rhetorically.

"He wasn't...he didn't..." Vlad trailed off, his mother understanding his meaning perfectly well from his reluctant tone of voice.

"No," she answered quickly, "At least not that I could tell. No, it wasn't that, I just don't think they ever felt anything for each other."

"And where is he now? I'm not going to have an angry husband knocking at my door, am I?" Vlad raised an eyebrow.

"An ex-husband, and no, Mikhail isn't the type, believe me," Rosalyn waved a dismissive hand, "No, he's in Russia, and I don't think he'll ever leave. You wouldn't have liked him I don't think," she remarked.

"Hmmm," he breathed.

"How long have you been on amicable term with your godson then? When you told me last, you two weren't so friendly," Rosalyn said.

"Who says we are now?"

"Well he's here, and something tells me he that wouldn't be if he didn't choose to be," she replied perceptively.

"No, he wouldn't," Vlad said, remembering all the times he'd offered the boy everything he had to give and it hadn't meant anything to Daniel. "He's trying to be...understanding," he added, "He doesn't wish to fight anymore."

"And by 'fight' you mean...what exactly?" she raised an eyebrow, not sure that she wanted to know the answer, but certain that Vlad wouldn't give her one anyway.

"You remember what happened when I attempted the same with father?" Vlad's eyes narrowed as, quite against his will, he recalled the times he'd attempted to 'call a truce' with his father. Tragically to no avail each time, after a while he'd given up trying.

"How could I forget?" she whispered.

"...How can he be so much like me...and be the complete opposite?" he hissed, his fist tightening around the cloth that he still held uselessly in his hand.

"I don't know," his mother replied, "But you're not going to treat him in the same way that you were...are you?"

"I already have," he admitted ambiguously and she sighed heavily in disappointment, "More than once."

"Then I'm surprised he's here at all," Rosalyn told him frankly.

"As am I," Vlad said quietly.

"...The pocket watch," she asked after a moment, "Did you give to him?"

"I did," he answered curtly.

"And?"

"And he tried most emphatically in entreating me to keep it. The thought of my giving him anything caught him off guard."

"Wasn't that the point?"

"No."

"Then what was? You already said that you've had little to do with him for years, what changed to make you want to give him something so meaningful? Is it the same reason as to why he's here now?"

"...Yes," he answered reluctantly.

"But you're not going to tell me what that is, are you?"

"Not likely," Vlad told her with a small smile.

"I didn't think so."

* * *

At the same time, Danny sat in his room in one of the warm, cosy arm chairs watching the television and preceding to flick open his phone after it rang.

"Hey, Mom," Danny smiled.

"Danny, it's late, why are you still up?" Maddie asked quickly.

"If you thought I was asleep why call?" he replied quietly, "So, how's the err...the convention?"

"It's wonderful, today we sat through a seminar about how to banish ghosts back to their own dimension and we..."

"Okay, I get it, you're having fun," Danny sighed.

"How are you and your sister? Are you behaving?"

"Yes, Mom," he answered automatically.

"How's Vlad?"

"He's...fine," Danny shrugged, "Erm...mom...did...when you were in college, did Vlad ever talk about his parents?"

"What?" she exclaimed in surprise, "Why?"

"Well...it's just...Jazz thinks she's got one of her psychology theories and..."

"No, he didn't," Maddie answered, still surprised that her son would be asking about such a thing, "Not that I can remember."

"Never?"

"...No, never," she replied after a moments' thought.

"Oh," he replied in disappointment.

"Has he mentioned them to you? Is that why you're asking?"

"No, no, he hasn't said anything, I was just curious...you know how Jazz gets when she's got an idea."

"Tell her it's probably best not to ask him about it; every time your father and I used to ask Vlad it usually ended with him getting angry," Maddie said.

"Gotcha," he nodded seriously, remembering just what tended to happen when Vlad got angry. "But erm...you're not gonna believe this...Vlad's mom's here..."

"His mother?"

"And his uncle...and his cousin and her kid," Danny added and heard his own mother breathe a surprised scoff, "What?" he asked.

"It's just...surprising, that's all. I got the feeling that it was never a...close family from how angry he always got when we mentioned it."

"Yeah...well...it's kinda weird, y'know...I mean, Vikky, err...Viktoria's okay, I guess..."

"Vikky?"

"Vlad's niece...I mean his...cousin once removed, she's nine. She's...nice, I guess. I only just met her," Danny explained.

"Where is she now?" Maddie asked.

"Gone to bed," he yawned.

"Which is where you would be going, Danny," his mother scolded.

"Yeah, I will, later," Danny shrugged, "I'm gonna make the most of having a 30 inch plasma TV while I can," he added.

"Alright," Maddie rolled her eyes, unbeknownst to Danny, "Good night, sweetie."

"Night," Danny replied, snapping his phone shut and tossing it onto the table.

* * *

Despite Danny's best efforts he fell asleep about an hour later in the armchair with the sounds of the television failing to wake him. But something else did.

"Daniel?" Vlad floated up through the floor and looked around, the darkness not making a difference to his search. In an instant he saw the boy sleeping, mouth open, curled up with an embroidered blanket of red and gold wrapped loosely around him. He walked over to the sleeping boy and shook his shoulder gently, "Daniel, wake up," he said again.

"...Go 'way..." Danny muttered, reaching for the blanket and pulling it up over his head instinctively.

"No, Daniel, I mean it, get up, now," Vlad sighed. He lightly charged his index finger with a small electrical charge and brought it down on the boys unmoving, blanket covered shoulder.

"Argh!" Danny cried, jumping out of his chair into a battle ready stance, his ghost powers at his fingertips. In his haste to move, Danny had tangled himself up in the blanket and preceded to grumble to himself as he tried to fight his way out of it so that he could see. "What the...son of a...get this thing off'a me..."

"Honestly, that was ridiculous, would it be too much to ask for a little dignity, just once?" Vlad said quite calmly.

"Wh...Vlad?" Danny furrowed his brow after a second. "What are you..." he grumbled as he tossed of the blanket, scowling at it in frustration when it landed on the floor. "What the hell was that?!"

"That, dear boy, was you making a fool of yourself...again."

"That was your fault!" Danny growled.

"Come, back to the lab, you haven't nearly mastered any adequate control of your powers yet," Vlad said to a bewildered Danny.

"Wh...now?"

"Of course, now. When else am I supposed to teach you? Over dinner with my mother?" the man scoffed.

"But it...it's the middle of the night!"

"No, it's one in the morning," Vlad replied pedantically.

"That's worse!"

"That depends on your point of view."

"Can't it wait?"

"No, unless you want to risk freezing the castle," Vlad said smugly as Danny sighed and angrily ran a hand through his already messy hair. The older hybrid then left as he had came, via the floor, and Danny followed, reluctantly.


	11. Vlad the Businessman

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 11: Vlad the Businessman**

* * *

It was now well past three in the morning and Vlad had left Danny with strict instructions to clean the mess he'd made in the lab, again. The young hybrid didn't think it particularly fair since the mess had only been made because Vlad had forced him into the ridiculously timed power practice in the first place, but he didn't think it wise to argue either. After all, he was learning from Vlad and the older hybrid would only make it more difficult for him if he moaned anyway.

Instead of lethargy creeping back in, Danny found himself wide awake and he doubted that he'd be able to sleep until his adrenaline rush wore of. So, as he cleared away the last of the broken glass, he decided to make his way back up into the castle. He went into the main living room and unfolded a large, brocade quilt onto the sofa where he lay down, tv remote in hand while he mindlessly flicked through the seemingly infinite number of channels on the large tv before him.

It was another ten minutes before he heard the door click open to admit Rosalyn Masters into the room. For a moment she stared curiously at the figure on the sofa, visible only by the glare from the screen, before she walked over to him.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" she asked, surprised to see another person awake at such an ungodly hour.

"I erm, I couldn't sleep," Danny explained simply.

"Neither could I," Rosalyn shook her head and sat down on the sofa across from him, "Insomnia," she added simply.

Danny was suddenly incredibly uncomfortable; here was a woman whom he'd seen beaten by her own husband in attempts to protect her son, a woman whom he had no right to know as much about as he did, in the same room as him. Alone. What was he supposed to say? What was he supposed to do?

"You look nervous, young man," she chuckled in a manner much like her son.

"Wha...I..." Danny blinked.

"Relax, I don't bite," Rosalyn smirked.

"I'm not nervous," he snapped quickly, "Why should I be nervous?"

"You tell me."

"I'm fine," he told her.

"Alright, then," the woman nodded, amused. "You know, I don't think my son introduced us properly. I'm Rosalyn Masters," she said.

"Danny, Danny Fenton," he replied automatically, though still confused and surprised.

"Pleased to meet you, Danny," she smiled, "I don't suppose you'll believe me, but when I saw you last night it was like looking at my son when he was your age," she mused.

"Erm..." Danny frowned, lost for words again.

"It's really quite fortunate that I found you here. I didn't intend to be able to talk to you by myself for a good while yet, especially not so quickly, but I have to admit, I've been waiting to meet you for a long time. Vlad told me that he had a god child some time ago."

"Well...here I am," he said rather awkwardly.

"Here you are, you and your sister," she replied.

"Yeah."

"Why?" Rosalyn asked politely.

"Our parents are...away for a while, and apparently we needed a babysitter," he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"So they sent you to my son?"

"They were...erm...friends, in college...I think," Danny answered, trying not to sound as though he knew too much about his parents history, after all, most people his age wouldn't, he suspected.

"I see. So you get on well then, with your god father?"

"It's...complicated," he sighed, "Really, really complicated."

"Hmmm, and I don't expect you're going to tell me why, are you?"

"Sorry, ma'am," he answered politely and she smiled.

"That's quite alright."

Danny shifted where he sat, uncomfortably in silence now and he didn't know how much more of this atmosphere he could take. He wondered if it was possible to make his escape before she asked another question he couldn't answer. The last thing he needed was for this woman, this very intelligent woman, to ask certain questions and somehow find out about the powers that he and Vlad had.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now...I should really try to sleep...a little...erm...night," he finished awkwardly and all but fled the room leaving a very bemused woman behind him

* * *

What neither Danny, nor Rosalyn knew was that Vlad had not in fact gone to bed that night at all. After he'd left Danny to clean the lab, hoping that the repeated effort would serve to prevent further breakages, the older hybrid had opted to spend hours in his large garage. It was at least two times the size of his lab and overlooked the vast grounds of his estate with a large driveway and equipment enough to rival an industrial, working garage. It was one of his many indulgent distractions and though he didn't often like to be reminded of the past, he had to admit that he felt comfortable in this kind of environment. The days spent working in the garage near to his campus as a young man had been some of the best he could remember.

So that was where he spent much of his time, and that was where three children found him that morning.

* * *

Danny and Jazz had found that breakfast in Vlad's castle was simply impossible to pass up, so on orders from her little brother, Jazz dragged him out of bed that morning in time to see the cook bring in their food. They were joined shortly after by Viktoria who was all too happy to see breakfast being served.

"Where is...Mr. Masters?" she asked them, still unsure as to what she was meant to call this new relative, of whom she knew next to nothing about.

"Dunno," Danny shrugged.

"Oh. Maybe he is still in bed, everyone else is," she remarked.

"Yeah, I would be too...I just really love this food," he told her as he stifled a yawn, "But maybe I should've stayed in bed...didn't sleep well," he said when she shot him a questioning glance.

"...I will go find him," Viktoria piped up after finishing her breakfast quickly.

"I don't think that's a good..." Danny began, but the young girl had run off before he could even finish his sentence, "Wait...Vikki...I mean, Viktoria, come back!" he shot off after her with his sister following him.

* * *

"Which one is his?" Viktoria frowned, looking at all of the numerous doors that held a bedroom, finding a flaw in her plan.

"This is really not a..." Danny began again.

"Please," she begged.

"That one, I think, but you really should..." he sighed, relenting to her puppy eyed stare and she knocked on the door to which he'd pointed without another glance at him.

"Mr. Vlad, sir?" she called after knocking.

"He won't be happy if you wake him up," the young hybrid shivered. It had been late when he hand Vlad had finally stopped their training and Vlad was tetchy at the best of times. Danny was only awake for the food but Vlad could have five star cuisine any time he wanted. He really didn't want to be in the receiving end of Vlad's tired temper.

"It will be fine," Viktoria replied, slowly opening the door.

"No, no, don't..." Danny leapt forwards, typing to stop her, but the door was open before he could.

"...There is no one here," she spoke, looking around the grand room.

"Phew," Danny sighed, relieved, leaning against the doorframe, taking in the grand sight of a billionaire's bedroom.

"Where could he have gone?"

"This place is huge, there's thousands of places he could be," Jazz told the girl.

"Then we look, it can be a game, no?" she beamed.

"I'm telling you, this is a bad idea," Danny repeated.

"What else do we do then?" Viktoria asked him.

"Come on, we're in a castle, there's tons of stuff here!" he threw up his arms.

"I don't want 'stuff'," she said, "I don't know anything about Mr. Vlad, I want to get to know him before I have to go back home."

Danny turned his eyes to his sister and it seemed that neither one could resist the look in the girl's eyes, even though they knew it was a bad idea to go looking for Vlad. Things never turned out as you expected when Vlad was involved; they knew all too well.

"Alright, we'll help you look for him then," Jazz said to the young girl.

* * *

As Danny had already learned, searching for one man in an entire castle was no easy task when he couldn't use his ghost powers but Viktoria didn't seem to get discouraged every time a room came up empty. It left them with plenty of time to talk until they heard quiet music and the sounds of clanging metal. Noise was much more promising than the silence they'd been met with from the castle so far, so they followed it and were lead to what they found was the huge garage.

Vlad was lying under a vintage car, reaching up at the wires and pipes with a wrench. His clothes were stained with engine oil and the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled back to reveal that the pale skin of his forearms was also dirty.

"There, we found him, now let's..." Danny began, to no avail yet again.

"Vlad...sir?" Viktoria walked forwards, examining the metal tools and pipes scattered around Vlad.

The older hybrid stopped working and emerged from under the car to look up at the young girl. "What are you doing here?" he asked her, curiously.

"We were looking for you," she answered, "I..." she began but was cut short when the sharp ringing of a telephone sounded out over the music.

The noise automatically turned down the music and Vlad stood before walking over one of the structural pillars, on which was mounted a touch screen system. He glanced at the caller ID pressed the screen and the phone turned onto a loud speaker.

"I thought I gave specific instructions that I wasn't to be disturbed for two weeks," he said sharply

"I'm sorry, sir, but this is important," the voice of a young woman said, "The Chinese representatives are on their way to the company...today," she said and Vlad paled.

"What?!" the hybrid exclaimed, the wrench falling from his hand, landing unceremoniously on his foot, "Argh, damn it..." he muttered, kicking the offending object away.

Viktoria couldn't help but giggle at the sight of Vlad cursing a harmless piece of metal, and Danny had to admit that it was rather funny, even though Vlad did send a dark scowl their way.

"Sir?"

"What?" he snapped again.

"They'll be arriving here this afternoon...sir."

"Who is responsible for this? They're not supposed to arrive until next month," Vlad said angrily.

"Apparently, someone has changed that and the Chinese didn't see fit to contact us until a moment ago, we're tying to find out who is responsible."

"See that you do."

"Yes, sir...and the Chinese representatives?"

"I suppose I'll have to deal with them myself, won't I?" he scrubbed a hand through his hair in frustration.

"How is your Chinese, sir?" the young woman asked, with cautious humour.

"None of your business, Elena, get back to work."

"Of course, sir. When should we expect you?"

"Within the hour," he answered reluctantly.

"Very good, sir," the woman replied.

"Erm...what was that about?" Danny asked the second after Vlad angrily punched the button to make another call.

"I don't have time to explain," the older hybrid snapped, waiting impatiently while the ringing on the phone began.

"Hello?" a sleepy, male voice groaned after a moment.

"Michael, I need a driver," Vlad snapped quickly.

"...What, now...sir?"

"No, after I insult the Chinese with my noticeable absence, of course now!"

"The...what? But, sir, I thought I had two weeks..."

"Your vacations ends early, as does mine. Now move, I want you here within twenty minutes and the limo needs to be ready to leave in no more than thirty."

"But, sir..." the man began, but Vlad cut short their conversation before he could finish.

Vlad then walked swiftly past them and out of the garage, ignoring the questioning glances sent his way.

"Vlad, what's going on?" Danny asked him again as he followed as quickly as he could but the older hybrid said nothing as he made his way to his bedroom and threw open the doors to a rather large walk in wardrobe.

"Will you stop asking questions," he sighed.

"Well, maybe if you told us what the heck you and that lady were talking about then..."

"Weren't you listening at all? There will be some very influential, very wealthy Chinese business associates arriving at my office in a few hours and no one is prepared! Do you have any idea what could happen if I'm even a second late to a meeting with the Chinese?" he called out as he pulled a clean shirt from its hanger.

"No fortune cookies?" Danny snickered.

"Funny," Viktoria smiled.

"No, not funny," Vlad snapped, "Whoever did this will wish they'd never been born."

"Someone rescheduled a meeting, big deal," Jazz said, "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Remind me to never give you a job in any of my companies," Vlad muttered. "This meeting is worth over $10 million in investments."

"So...someone sabotaged it?" Danny frowned.

"There are far more effective...and faster ways to sabotage a business deal than this, believe me," Vlad replied darkly, "But I can't ignore the possibility," he added slowly.

"So...what're you going to do?" Jazz asked.

"What does it look like I'm going to do?" Vlad turned to her, rolling his eyes. "I can't simply lose $10 million because someone wants to inconvenience me," he said, turning around again and stomping into his ensuite bathroom. He could hardly go into a business meeting smelling like engine oil.

* * *

Several minutes later he emerged from the bathroom with his clean shirt unbuttoned and a white towel hanging from his shoulders. Fortunately, his movements, the towel and his shirt served to conceal his old scars and hide the rather angry burn on his stomach, and one he saw that the children were hovering in his bedroom, he was quickly able to conceal them further. He didn't want to have to defend himself from what he didn't doubt would be a questioning inquisition if someone saw them.

"Whoa, whoa, dude, button your shirt!" Danny cried, as Vlad covered the burn scar.

"What are you three still doing in here?" Vlad frowned.

"Didn't you just hear what I said?"

"This is my bedroom, in my house I might add," the older hybrid remarked, "I believe that gives me the right to do as I please, don't you?"

"Ugh," Danny sighed, "You're such a fruitloop."

"What is fruitloop?" Viktoria asked him, confused.

"Erm...well...its a breakfast cereal...but...erm..." Danny rubbed the back of his neck. When he tried to explain his logic for insulting Vlad it never seemed to make any sense at all.

"Uh-huh," the young girl frowned.

" Honestly, Daniel, you sound ridiculous," he sighed, walking over to his desk. It was a large piece of old woodwork with a laptop, tablet and other expensive paraphernalia on it.

"'Least I don't curse in food form," he muttered back quietly, earning him another scowl.

* * *

"No," Vlad sighed for the fifth time as he stepped into the limo after his driver opened the door silently for him.

"Why not?" Viktoria asked again.

"Because this is important business and you are only a child."

"So?"

"So, you'll get bored. You're more than welcome to entertain yourselves here at the castle, just not at my office," Vlad rolled his eyes.

"Ah, come on Vlad, what's the worst that could happen?" Danny smirked.

"You should know better than to ask me that, you of all people, Daniel."

"But I..." Viktoria began again.

"I don't have time to argue with you."

"Then why are you just standing around here?" Danny asked innocently.

"Alright, fine, get in, just don't blame me when the three of you tire of waiting around," Vlad hissed and they shared a look of triumph before jumping into the limo after Vlad.

* * *

As Vlad stormed into the building, everything and everyone inside seemed to be in a state of utter chaos. There were people running around carrying papers and folders as though their lives depended on it and other were moving plants and even trays of wine glasses and champagne flutes.

"Sir!" a woman called out, running forwards skilfully in her high heals. Danny and Jazz recognised her as Vlad's secretary, Elena, and despite the fact that everyone else looked absolutely frantic, she appeared calm and collected. *1. Her long dark hair was elaborately tied back in an almost victorian style and her pale blouse was a combination of lace and silk tucked into a grey pencil skirt. In her arms she carried her own collection of folders which she handed over to Vlad immediately. If she was surprised by the three young children standing behind Vlad, she said nothing of it.

"I trust this is a temporary situation, my dear," he said before opening the first folder, gesturing at the chaos around them with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, we did think that we had over a month to prepare for this, sir, and there have been other things..."

"Where are we on finding out who did this?"

"Well, they would have had to hack into our systems," she began.

"I'm aware of that," he replied.

"It narrows down the field quite a bit, there's not a lot of people who'd have that kind of technological skill."

"In fact, there is only one in this company," Vlad said slowly. In his haste to leave his castle, he hadn't thought much about the issue, but now that he did, it became clear.

"Yes, sir, no one here except you has the ability to hack the systems of this company. Therefore..."

"This was an outside job," he growled.

"Tech was able to verify that someone from outside this building used an independent server to hack our systems over two weeks ago. They accessed the company timetable and sent a very convincing message to the Chinese."

"And they did nothing else?"

"No, sir."

"Could they trace where this signal came from?" he asked, quickly flicking through the papers.

"Even if they can, they said it would take some time," Elena answered.

"And the Chinese know nothing of this?"

"We're fairly certain they don't."

"Let's keep it that way," he emphasised, giving her back the folder.

"Sir..." she trailed off after glancing briefly at Vlad's family.

"Yes?" he raised an eyebrow, daring her to speak.

"Well, it's just...I don't suppose that you'll be meeting the Chinese with..."

"No, I will not. Keep them out of sight," he replied before turning to the children. "I expect you to behave while you're here."

"No problemo," Danny grinned and Vlad sighed heavily. He had a terrible feeling that this was all going to go horribly wrong, but what choice did he have? He simply hadn't had time to argue with them. But something told him that should call his cousin and inform her that her only child was quickly learning how to test his limits after only a single day.

* * *

*1. Elena Cartwright is an OC mentioned in the bonus scenes chapter of my story, "What Happens in the Past'.


	12. Money Is No Object

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 12: Money Is No Object**

* * *

As nervous as Vlad was about leaving a potentially unstable hybrid alone in his vast office complex, it didn't distract from the anger he felt at having his servers hacked. Nor did it take away his frustration at having to listen to his cousin telling him that it was one of his more uninspired ideas at having brought the three children with him.

"And why exactly did you let them go with you?" Valya asked over the phone.

"I didn't," he replied, "I just didn't have time to argue with them. I don't even have the time to argue the point with you right now; the Chinese could arrive at any minute."

"Vlad, you took three children with you to a business meeting, don't you think you should give them something to do?"

"Such as?" he questioned as listened reluctantly as she answered.

* * *

"Why did we think this'd be a good idea again?" Danny muttered.

"I forget," Viktoria replied.

"Hey, this was your idea."

"Was not," she shot back.

"Was too."

"Knock it off," Jazz rolled her eyes, "Vlad did warn you that we'd get bored."

"Yeah, well, he warns me about a lot of stuff, I just don't listen anymore," her brother shrugged.

"Are you bored yet?" a kind, yet amused voice asked them. It was Vlad's assistant, Elena, she'd opened the door to the empty office quietly and began to walk over to them.

"No, we're good," Danny lied.

"Oh, well, I guess that means you're okay to wait here all day and you don't want this platinum card to use in the shops then," she shrugged and turned to leave.

"Argh, wait!" Danny called quickly.

"That's what I thought," Elena smiled and handed the card over to Danny.

"So, err, Vlad gave you this, huh?" he asked.

"Mmm-hmm," she nodded, "He said you'd be trashing the place by now...looks like he was wrong. You realise he's going to be busy all day and you won't be able to see him until he finished talking to the Chinese...that could take all day. Surely he warned you."

"Yeah...he kinda did," Danny rubbed the back of his neck, "But we didn't really give him much choice."

Elena gave a small smile before speaking again, "His drivers' waiting for you outside, he'll take you into the city or back home. Whichever you all prefer," she said as Danny's phone beeped.

"Erm...okay...first off, how'd Vlad get my number..." he trailed off, reading the text.

"What's he say?" Jazz asked him.

"'Don't even think about going into the city by yourselves, your parents would not be best pleased with me, meaning I will not be best pleased with you'," he read, "Right, like I care." he added. "How'd he get my number?!"

"This is Vlad we're talking about, Danny," she reminded him as though that was explanation enough, and he supposed it was.

"Gah, that fruitloop," he mumbled, "Guess we're going out then...unless you guys wanna stay here."

"Not really," Jazz said.

"No," Viktoria agreed, "I am bored here."

"And we do have Vlad's credit card," the young hybrid grinned.

"He does owe me birthday presents," Viktoria smiled at him.

"And Christmas presents," Danny added.

"I really don't think we should spend a lot of his money..." Jazz began.

"Come on, Jazz, he's a billionaire, I don't think we could spend a billion dollars...or could we..."

"I believe we should try," Vikki laughed.

"Agreed!" Danny jumped and his sister sighed.

* * *

"Vlad's not gonna be happy when he sees all this," Jazz told them for the third time.

"Cheer up would you, Jazz, you're depressing me, and I'm actually pretty happy right now," Danny replied.

"Money can't buy happiness, y'know."

"I know that...but it can buy me a new Xbox and a stack load of games," he answered.

"And new dresses," Vikki spoke up.

"Yeah, but that wouldn't make me very happy, Vik," he told her.

"It make me happy."

"Fair enough," Danny shrugged.

"Where to now?" Michael the driver asked them from his front seat.

"I'm getting kinda hungry," he said, "How bout you two?"

"Yes!" Viktoria smiled.

* * *

Hours passed and Vlad's anxiety was only building up; instead of enjoying the power play as he usually would in a business meeting, he found himself wanting to bang his head against a wall at the stupidity of it all. He'd allowed Danny to wander the streets of Wisconsin with unstable ghost powers and he didn't have nearly enough training to control them properly if the worst happened and he couldn't stop thinking about it. He was also mulling though every possibility as to just who would choose to sabotage him in such an unusual manner.

He knew that the business deal would be a success so he didn't deem it important enough to warrant all of his attention, however, the possible discovery of a young human hybrid did. Fortunately, Vlad was possessing of the perfect poker face so his associates were none the wiser to his internal dilemma.

* * *

"Urgh!" Danny exclaimed, leaning back in his chair, "Okay...I admit it...I think I ate too much."

"I told you that three courses ago," Jazz sighed as Viktoria giggled as Danny's discomfort.

"I...I think I'm gonna be sick..." he muttered, unhappily, closing his eyes against the harsh lighting of the fast food restaurant around him.

"Try not to be," his sister said and he had the gall to appear hurt at her lack of sympathy.

"Gee, way to make me feel better," Danny grumbled.

"You brought this on yourself,' Jazz replied.

"But it was all you can eat! I had to do it!"

Jazz only sighed again in an almost Vlad-like manner as she watched her brother stupidly eyeing up the remaining burger on his plate; Danny was nothing if not stubborn.

* * *

"Danny, just put them back! They're way too expensive, I can't afford them," Jazz told her brother.

"No way, Jazz, you want them and Vlad gave us this card to use not to stare at. If he didn't want us to spend all his money he shouldn't have given it to us," he replied, carrying a stack of heavy books while Viktoria carried the few that he couldn't manage.

"This can make up for...birthday present, yes?" the little girl smiled.

"No, he doesn't owe me anything and I really..."

"Chill out already, it'll be fine," Danny rolled his eyes, "Now, did I get everything?"

"And more besides, but I'm telling you..."

"Good," he smiled.

* * *

It was late evening by the time Vlad was finally able to part ways from the Chinese and he left the upmarket restaurant they'd journeyed to, giving them leave to do as they pleased for the rest of the night, at his expense.

He couldn't understand why, after making $10 million dollars, he didn't feel the usual rush of adrenaline; the feeling of control and power and success. Why did he feel so empty now? Usually, after such a success, he'd stay out much later with whomever he'd done business with, but tonight he felt drained rather than elated and he was relieved as his limo pulled up in front of him.

"Early night, sir?" Michael questioned curiously, walking around to open the door for him.

"Don't ask," Vlad sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and tossing his jacket and brief case onto the back seat before joining them.

"Hey, watch where you're throwing that stuff!" Danny moaned, moving aside Vlad's things as the man himself sat down. He was disappointed to see that the older hybrid didn't display any shock at seeing them there.

"You children are determined to drive me insane, aren't you?" he scowled, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, we went to the cinema earlier but Michael said you were done so..."

"I mean, why didn't you go back to the castle?"

"...Are you seriously telling us to go to bed because it's late?" Danny scoffed.

"No."

"Good, 'cos you can't, and anyway it's not, it's like 8'o clock."

"All of this I assume, is yours?" Vlad asked, looking at the piles of bags around the surprisingly large limousine.

"Yep," Danny smiled, "We tried to max out your credit card," he said and Vlad chuckled as the young hybrid held out said card for him.

"I'm sure you made a valiant effort between the three of you," he replied, pocketing the card.

"You are not angry?" Viktoria asked.

"I just secured a $10 million dollar contract, you'll find there's very little that will make me angry after that, and I doubt that you three could spend all of my money in a single day. So no, I'm not."

"Good, because Jazz said that you would be," she added.

"Did she now?" Vlad raised an eyebrow at the elder Fenton sibling. "It doesn't seem as though that fear stopped you from acquiring a small library of your own in my absence," he said, glancing at the mountain of bagged books that he guessed were hers.

"I said not to buy them, but it was Danny's idea," Jazz defended.

"You wanted them!" her brother said indignantly.

"I also can't afford them, that's why I said to put them back."

"You wanted the books and now you have them, I really don't see your problem, Jasmine," Vlad sighed, loosening his tie.

"The problem is I didn't pay for them and I have no right to..."

"But you wanted them?"

"...Yeah, but I..." she admitted reluctantly.

"Then do calm down, for goodness sake, I doubt you sent more than a few hundred dollars on them if that's all you brought."

"...More than a few..." Jazz repeated, "That's a lot of money to normal people!"

"Not to me, please, don't tell me that that's news to you. I'm sure your brother and Viktoria did a much better job of it," he said, eyeing the bags that the young girl was clutching.

"I did spend more than a few hundred, Mr. Vlad," Vikki said.

"Wonderful," Vlad breathed, leaning his head back against the plush leather seat.

"This is crazy," Jazz mumbled.

* * *

"What is all this?!" Valya exclaimed on seeing her daughter dragging her days shopping bags through the foyer, followed by Danny and Jazz.

"My birthday presents," Viktoria answered, "Mr. Vlad said it was okay for us to..."

"Vlad said so, did he?" she furrowed her brow as Vlad stepped through the door and laid down his brief case onto a small table before he closed the door.

"Now my mummy is madder than you were," the girl told Jazz quietly.

"Vladimir!" Valya stared at him.

"What?! You said they needed something to do," he replied incredulously.

"I didn't say give them free reign of your finances! How am I supposed to pay you back for all this? I don't even want to think about how much..."

"Not you too," he rolled his eyes, "You don't have to pay me back, I have plenty of money."

"Not everyone can have that attitude to money!"

"I can."

"I can't!"

"Let them have their fun," Vlad said calmly walking over to her.

"But I..."

Vlad spoke again only this time in Russian and whatever he said clearly had a calming effect on his cousin. She nodded after a moment and gave him a sad smile before making her way across to her daughter and helped her take the bags up to her room.

"What'd you tell her?" Danny asked quietly.

Instead of answering his godson, Vlad turned to stare at him and followed the path his cousin had taken to the grand staircase. "Enjoy your games, Daniel, and don't even think about returning those books, Jasmine," he told them and began to make his way up the red carpeted stairs.

* * *

Later that night, Vlad was sitting with his mother and Alexi in the dark sitting room, all three watching, but not paying much attention to the television

"You know you shouldn't indulge them like that," Rosalyn remarked.

"They are family, are they not?"

"Valya's going through a though time, Mikhail left her with almost nothing in the divorce, she hasn't been able to treat Vikki like that in a long time. She feels guilty..."

"I know, that's why I did it," Vlad told her, "The last thing the girl needs is to feel that guilt as her own," he said, staring down into his half empty tumbler of whiskey.

"Just don't make a habit of it," Alexi said, "Viktoria doesn't need to grow up spoilt."

Vlad scoffed before he downed the remaining whiskey and flicked his eyes across the room as his astute hearing picked up the sound of an engine making its way down the long drive to the castle.

"...Vlad..." he vaguely heard his mother say something and he snapped his attention back to her as he heard his name spoken.

"I'm sorry, what?" he questioned, still hearing the car draw closer, he even heard the cluster of heartbeats inside it.

"I said, did you tell Valya that?"

"...Yes," Vlad said slowly.

"I don't..." Alexi began a few minutes later but Vlad stood and began to walk from the room, "Where are you going?"

"To answer the door," Vlad replied, forgetting in his haste to escape the conversation that he needed to wait for the tell tale knock first. That knock came seconds after Vlad had left the room and his uncle blinked in surprise.

"How did he know there was someone there?" Alexi muttered to Rosalyn who said nothing.

* * *

"Good evening, Mr. Masters," the man standing before Vlad said. He was Chinese and wearing a sharp suit, watching as two men behind him moved one of two large boxes to the door. "My name is Fai Chung, I have been instructed to leave you with these, courtesy of my employers." Vlad stared in turn at the box and at the man before him in shock as the man spoke again. "They are fully trained, sir, their names are Iskra and Nika."

"...Iskra and Nika..." Vlad repeated, confused.

"Yes, sir, they are gifts from my company in many thanks for the work we do together."

After the man left Vlad paused for a moment, examining the heartbeats he could hear thudding inside the boxes and he opened the first to find an excitable, beautiful hunting dog. It was almost wolf like in its appearance with soft black fur and odd patches of white mixed in.

"So, which one are you?" he muttered to himself, kneeling to examine the silver tag hanging from its red collar. "Iskra," he read and the dog barked, seemingly in affirmation and licked his fingers happily. "And Nika," he said after releasing the second dog which looked almost the same as the first.

He lead both dogs into the foyer, noting that both seemed happy and eager to listen to him and found that he was being watched by his mother and uncle, both of whom must have been drawn from the sitting room by the dogs barking.

"Vlad...where did these come from?" his mother asked.

"My Chinese business associates," he answered, kneeling back down now that the door was closed, so that he was able to stroke the animals soft fur.

"They...they gave you dogs?"

"Yes."

"Is that...normal?"

"It's not unusual for them to give gifts but those gifts aren't usually alive," Vlad answered, "Nor do they typically give them Russian names."

"They seem very well trained," Alexi noted.

"So...how did they know that you'd like a pair of West Siberian Laikas?" Rosalyn asked,

"I might have mentioned it in one of our meetings. I've been toying with the idea of acquiring one for a while."

"Now you have two, if you choose to keep them," Alexi said.

"Well, it would be bad manners to return a gift from the Chinese," he said simply, not looking up from the dogs.

"They like you," his uncle remarked, "And...you like them."

As though embarrassed by the statement, Vlad stood almost instantly and brushed the dog fur from his black trousers, "Yes, well," he coughed, "They are...as you said, well trained."

* * *

In the quiet darkness of his lab in the early hours of the morning, Vlad hovered over his computer screens pensively and he hissed in slight surprise when an automated voice jostled him from his thoughts.

"Your recent equations regarding cloning are incorrect," the female voice spoke, "They will not function."

"I know that," Vlad replied tersely.

"Attempting to clone a human is unwise, and cloning a human ghost hybrid is impossible," the voice added.

"Perhaps."

"Then why persist in this?"

"ANII, my dear," he inhaled, "Do be quiet," Vlad said simply.

The voice that conversed with him was called 'ANII: Artificial Networking Intelligence Interface' and she was perhaps Vlad's greatest creation to date. 'She' roamed the lab and the castle as a bright blue and green hologram from one of the many computer panels. It took on the appearance of rapidly moving formulae and symbols in a sphere with rings moving around it like an orbiting planet. However, because of his near constant staff, she had little freedom, except in the lab but even that had been compromised lately; Vlad had instructed her to remain hidden whilst he'd been training the younger hybrid.

"Have you traced the signal yet?" he asked after a moment, "ANII?"

"Apologies, sir, it was my understanding that I was to be quiet."

"Very funny, I don't remember programming you with so much sarcasm," Vlad sighed.

"Human memories can be vague."

"Oh, indeed?"

"Yes, sir, in fact, statistics show that..."

"The signal, from where did it originate?" Vlad carefully pronounced each word.

"It is impossible to trace."

"What?!"

"The signal is impossible to..."

"I heard you!" he snapped, "But it's not possible! You have the best programming on the planet!"

"Indeed, sir, but the fact remains; I am unable to trace the signal to its source." Vlad seemed to pale at this conclusion and the automated voice continued, "It is my belief, sir, that this leads to only one possible conclusion."

"I programmed you with everything I know...based on what he taught me. He has access to a technological company good enough to rival my own...but I didn't think he'd...why would he..." Vlad said slowly, "My...father...did this," he breathed.

"Most probably, yes."

"...Ah... " he sighed.

"What will you do?"

"I..."

"Might I suggest that I continue to test this theory?"

"How exactly will you do that? The signal cannot be traced, I have no access to my father's work, I..."

"The hunter ghost, Skulker could be of assistance."

"If I wanted the house smashed to pieces, then yes," Vlad scoffed. "No, I'll go myself...tonight...now, I suppose."

"And what am I to do?"

"Analyse whatever I find, as always, and stay quiet. And make sure you keep track of Daniel's Ecto signature, I don't suppose we've done nearly enough to stabilise it yet."

"Why is it necessary to conceal my program from the castles' other inhabitants?"

"You've asked me that before," Vlad said, morphing into his ghost half.

"There has never been this many people here before," she replied.

"Exactly, which is why you'll stay hidden. They're human, they don't need any more reason to ask questions about me. My mother already knows there's something...different about me, and my uncle doesn't need to suspect even that. We don't need them to know that I possess a sentient AI as well as everything else."

"Very well, sir."

* * *

*1 I just couldn't resist giving Vlad an AI, I've been playing too much Mass Effect 2 lately. I remember in one episode, Vlad does have the hologram of Maddie, I think it's in an episode after 'Masters of Time' which means I can change it.


	13. Hair Trigger

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 13: Hair Trigger**

* * *

"Vlad?" Danny questioned quietly as he floated down through the ceiling of the empty lab. "Vlad? You there?"

With his feet now firmly on the ground, the young hybrid explored the room and came upon the computers that Vlad had been working on. Of course he couldn't understand any of it, though if he had he'd have discovered that not only was Vlad monitoring his ghost powers, he was also creating cloning equations.

"Huh?" Danny furrowed his brow, staring down at the data.

"I'm afraid this data is confidential, Mr. Fenton," a voice said suddenly and the young hybrid jumped away from the computer as the screen seemingly turned itself off.

"Who's there?!" he snapped quickly, charging his fists with green, glowing ectoplasm.

"I am not a 'who', Mr. Fenton, I am a 'what'," was the reply as a bright blue and green hologram emerging from one of the many computer panels.

"What the heck?!" the young hybrid frowned.

"I am called ANII," the voice said.

"Huh...you're a..." Danny breathed, taking slow steps over to the projection, "Holy cra...err...crumbs...you really are..."

"I do not think Mr. Masters would care if you used profanity, Mr. Fenton."

"Err...right, but my mom usually...erm...never mind..." he trailed off. "So...you're Vlad's...talking computer?"

"I am an Artificial Intelligence, programmed to think independently and adapt to any given situation."

"Uh huh..."

"This makes you uneasy, Mr. Fenton? I assure you, I can do no harm to any living being...unless I am programmed to do so," she added.

"Huh," Danny scoffed, "Thanks, captain obvious."

"You are welcome, petty officer," she replied sarcastically.

"Hah...a sarcastic machine...great," Danny laughed nervously, "...And why am I a petty officer?" he muttered, but he got no answer. "Didn't know machines could have a sense of humour," he remarked after a moment.

"Technically, I am an AI, not a machine," ANII reiterated.

"Right...err, sorry..."

"No apology necessary."

"So...erm...I..." Danny stammered, not sure exactly what to say.

"ANII," they heard Vlad's voice and the AI answered instantly.

"Yes, sir?"

"I'm sending you some data..."

"Wait, he's doing what now?" Danny muttered quietly.

"Sir, before I..."

"Not now," Vlad snapped, "It's taken me twenty minutes just make a dent in this firewall, I don't have time to be pedantic, I want to leave as soon as possible."

"But, sir, you really should..."

"Quiet," the older hybrid hissed, "My father is more paranoid than I am, his security system is state of the art...for humans."

"What the heck is going on?" Danny muttered.

"ANII? What was that? Was that Daniel?"

"Erm...hi, Vlad..."

"What are you doing?!" the man hissed, gritting his teeth, trying not to shout.

"Well, I thought..."

"No, no, I don't care, just be quiet."

"What's going on?" Danny asked.

"Mr. Masters is attempting to find evidence that his father sabotaged his business meeting," ANII answered the young hybrid.

"Oh...wait, your dad?"

"Yes, my father, he's the only one who'd do something so stupid," Vlad snapped.

"Why though?"

"I don't know," he hissed, "To teach me a lesson, I suppose, as always. And while we're on the subject, I thought I told you not to speak to anyone, ANII."

"Actually, sir, my primary function is to protect your interests. The work you were doing was left unattended and Mr. Fenton discovered it. I deemed to necessary to maintain your privacy. Also, you specified that the people I am to hide from were 'human', Mr. Fenton is not, therefore I surmised that he was not included in..."

"Alright, enough," Vlad ground out.

"Whoa, whoa, wait, what work? What are you hiding?" Danny asked quickly.

"At the moment, **I** am hiding from my father's security guards," the older hybrid hissed.

"...Your dad has security guards?"

"Yes."

"Can't you just...y'know overshadow them?"

"I could, if I wanted it on film that all twelve simultaneously froze for the brief second it would take for me to gain control of them. He's too paranoid not to notice something like that."

"He has cameras too?!" Danny balked.

"And motion sensors."

"Whoa...he's...who does he thinks gonna come after him? The army?"

"I imagine if half the things my father has done were to become public knowledge, the army would be the least of his worries. Now for the last time, be quiet. I'm coming back."

A few seconds later, Vlad teleported into the lab in a billow of dark smoke and Danny, despite his best efforts, nearly jumped out of his skin.

"W...geez...I hate it when you do that," he muttered.

Vlad said nothing as he floated over to what looked like the largest monitor in the room and began scanning the data files he'd found. "Well, looks like the most obvious answer **can** sometimes be right," he muttered to himself.

"Indeed, sir," ANII said, "However, Occam's Razor is more complicated that that. It states that..."

"I know," he snapped.

"Occam's...what now?" Danny wondered aloud.

"Daniel, what are you still doing here?" Vlad turned to him quickly, as though only just remembering that the younger hybrid was there.

"Err...well...I thought you were gonna teach me how to...but I guess it doesn't matter, I'll just..." he replied hastily. "Wait, you're hiding something on there aren't you? She...err...ANII wouldn't let me see...whatever that stuff was."

"Even if she let you read it you wouldn't understand it," Vlad sighed, glaring at the glowing hologram.

"I thought it best not to leave it to chance, sir," she replied.

"Yes, wonderful job, my dear," he snapped.

"So you **are** hiding something? I knew this was too good to be true. What are you up to, Plasmius?!"

"Honestly, Daniel, I..."

"Don't even try it," Danny ground out.

"...As you wish," he shrugged after a moment and pressed a button on the large keyboard. "What I am doing may save your life since you're too stubborn to listen to me, I had no choice," Vlad stated.

"What...what is all this? What'd you mean?" the young hybrid furrowed his brow.

On the large monitor was a fully body scan in glowing green but occasionally it changed in the blink of an eye to a pale blue and then back again. Beside it, taking up the rest of the screen were complex looking formulae which changed and updated very rapidly.

"I'm monitoring your ghost powers..."

"You're spying on me?!"

"No, I'm..."

"You jerk, you haven't changed a bit!" Danny exclaimed.

"And neither have you!" Vlad hissed back, his sudden anger making Danny fear for his safety. When Vlad got angry he usually got hurt. "If you'd listened to me in the first place I wouldn't have to do this now. You're developing a new ghost power and it's not to be taken lightly. When you use it you jump from a scale seven to a fourteen! Fourteen, Daniel!" *1

"Err...fourteen what?"

"...You don't know about ghost classification, do you?" Vlad asked, raising an eyebrow as he calmed down.

"...No...should I?"

The older hybrid sighed and turned back to his computer and brought up a vertical chart detailing the specifics of each classification and examples. "In short, this is a generally accepted scale of ectoplasmic power," he explained. "This is obviously more detailed than any chart anyone else would be able to show you because I developed it myself."

"Know it all," Danny couldn't help but mutter but Vlad chose to ignore it.

"You are a scale seven, bordering on eight at the moment," he said instead, pointing to what was, more or less, the middle of the chart. "You have all the basic ghost powers, you can defend yourself...moderately well, and you have a personality."

"Huh?"

"I'm sure you've noticed that there are ghosts with no sense of self, they have some small measure of power but they have no ambitions, they just...are."

"Oh, y'mean all those...erm...green ghosts that just sorta wander round the Ghost Zone?"

"Precisely. They're remnants of stray Ecto-Energy, that's all," Vlad told him.

"So...err...how far up does this thing go? Who's the highest?"

"Pariah Dark," the man said, "At his most powerful, I estimate that he would have been at least a scale 30; I was forced to add a new tier of classification for him alone. Of course, his power level depended on whether or not he possessed the ring and crown."

"And...where are you on this chart thing?" Danny decided to push his luck and ask. When Vlad didn't answer him, Danny floated up, closer to the screen, "Come on, you gotta be on here somewhere," he said.

"Of course, I am."

"Then where?"

"Twenty six," Vlad breathed.

"...Twenty six?!" Danny choked.

"It would be much higher were I not half human; there's only so much power you and I can tolerate before it takes its toll."

"Like your electrical powers?" the boy questioned, remembering one memory that Clockwork had shown him about the consequences that Vlad risked when he used those abilities.

"...Yes," Vlad admitted.

"And...erm...energy absorption?"

"Yes," he repeated simply.

"Oh," Danny breathed after a moment, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "So...this is really interesting and all...but you're still spying on me."

"You'll thank me later," he dismissed, but Danny was clearly not going to let this go.

"Don't think so, dude."

"You'd rather I left you to deal with this on your own?" Vlad scoffed, "You'd end up in hospital within the fortnight, or someone else would."

"Why? I thought I was getting good at controlling..."

"You'll need more than a few hours of practice to control these powers, trust me. This way, I'll know exactly what, if anything, triggers them and how to best control them," Vlad said, gesturing to the screen with his eyes.

"...You're...really...trying to help me?" Danny blinked.

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"Well...maybe..." he answered carefully.

"At least you're honest," Vlad remarked casually with a shrug.

"...You're not mad?" Danny asked, surprised.

"No."

"You were a minute ago."

"And now I'm not."

"...Okay..." the young hybrid said, puzzled again at the man's ridiculous mood swings, "That's...good...I guess. I still think you should have told me, I don't like being spied on."

"You didn't know, so it didn't matter."

"That's not the point," Danny sighed, "Y'can't just spy on people, okay?"

"I can," Vlad said.

"I don't mean 'cos we don't all have a lab worth a billion dollars, complete with spying stuff, I mean because it isn't right."

"I know that," he answered coldly, "The fact is I just don't care. It's a means to an end, nothing more."

"And you don't care that I don't like being spied on?"

"I don't see why you're..."

"Just...tell me," Danny insisted, "Please," he added slowly.

"...It's not that I'm not aware of your disapproval, but you wouldn't listen to me when I warned you so what choice did I have? It was either this or allow to exhaust yourself to the point where you probably wouldn't be conscious for weeks. Which would you prefer?"

"...Well...the one that doesn't put me in the hospital, but I..."

"Then what are you complaining about?"

"Okay...maybe...maybe I should've listened but..."

"Yes, you should," Vlad replied tersely.

"But can you blame me for not listening to you?" Danny asked quickly, "You never give me a reason to."

"I know more about ghost powers than you ever will, isn't that reason enough?" Vlad said incredulously.

"No."

"What?!" Vlad exclaimed.

"Just because you know more than me doesn't me you can tell me what to do and it doesn't give me any reason to trust you," Danny said, "And spying on me...it doesn't matter why...doesn't help."

"..." Vlad opened his mouth to speak but before he could he was suddenly struck with a strong sense of déjà vu. He remembered having a similar conversation with his father when he was around Danny's age; suffice to say it hadn't gone well for him when he'd acted as Danny did.

* * *

_It had been during one of Vladislav's more cruel lessons, one of his personal favorites, Vlad had quickly learned, which involved beating the young Vlad senseless in a morbid attempt to teach his son self defense._

_"Why do we have to keep doing this?" Vlad ground out, as he pushed himself up off the wooden floor of the training room._

_"Because I say so."_

_"Why?" the boy dared to repeat, but it only earned him a sharp backhand to the face which flung him back to the floor again. He was fortunate that his father hadn't used his other hand since he was holding a sword in it._

_"Do not question me! I am older than you," his father smirked, "I am stronger than you. I know what is best!"_

_"So you're stronger than me!" Vlad yelled, "It doesn't make you better than me!"_

_"Of course it does. It also means you must do as I say because I am doing this for your own good!"_

_He'd been left with a permanent reminder of that conversation in the form of a scar stretching from his neck down to his elbow where his father had cut the skin and even through the muscle with a sword so sharp that it had the deadly potential to do much worse._

* * *

"...Vlad? Vlad?" Danny repeated, moving closer, slowly, towards the silent hybrid. When he was close enough to gently wave his hand in front of Vlad's eyes in an attempt to snap him out of whatever haze he was in, the man jerked back suddenly in what Danny clearly recognised as fear. He knew enough about being scared to recognise it in others, but be had to second guess himself when the person in question was Vlad. He'd never seen Vlad scared, not even when the man was potentially dying of Ecto-Acne. "Hey, whoa, what's..." he moved back, his hands up in an attempt to calm the man down.

"...Daniel?" Vlad questioned, his breathing erratic.

"Yeah," Danny furrowed his brow, stretching out the word carefully.

"I..."

"Did you just space out?" Danny asked and Vlad suddenly turned away from him.

The older hybrid gripped his forehead with his right hand, burying his fingers in his hair as he changed back into his human form. He'd gone years without experiencing such a vivid memory and now all it took was a somewhat familiar conversation to bring it back, full force. It was bad enough that he was thinking about the memories again, if he had to relive them, he wasn't sure how long he could possible stay sane, or at least, his version of sane.

"Leave me alone," Vlad breathed, quietly. Maybe it was best if he simply stopped speaking to the boy altogether; Danny reminded him too much sometimes of the boy he'd once been and that was a child he'd much rather forget.

"What? But I..."

"I said leave me alone!"

"What's wrong with you?" Danny frowned.

"Go away, boy!" Vlad ordered again and shot out a warning blast of crackling ectoplasm from his left hand which hit the ground in an arc shape as he swept his hand across. His other hand was still clutching at his head which was still pounding from the adrenaline at reliving the small memory and his upper arm throbbed as he recalled the pain he'd been in for weeks.

"Not till you tell me what just happened," the young, nervous hybrid replied, floating up in the air to avoid the pitiful blast more out of habit than necessity. It had been a weak attack and even he could tell that much. Vlad's intention hadn't been to hurt him; at least not that time. It was strange enough to keep him in the lab, rather than flying away; Vlad's attacks always had a purpose and that purpose was usually to hurt him. This one probably wouldn't have even cut the skin.

"No," Vlad growled; to even think about it was to admit that he'd been weak, that he'd been a victim of his father's cruelty and he didn't want to think of himself as weak or as a victim. He was Vlad Plasmius, a powerful hybrid and a wealthy billionaire, not weak little Vlad Masters who couldn't defend himself.

"Whoa!" Danny yelped, turning himself intangible to avoid another, rather weak blast, "Knock it off!"

"Then get out!"

"Why?! What the heck is wrong with you?!"

"It's your fault! Just leave me be!"

"My fault? What's my fault? What'd I do?" Danny snapped back.

"You opened your mouth, that's what! Why can't you just listen to me and do as I say?!"

"Maybe if you stopped acting like a nutcase, I would!"

Vlad's eyes shone red at that and he raised his head from the palm of his hand to finally meet the boy's confused eyes. It wasn't enough for Danny to stir up old memories better left forgotten, now he had to remind Vlad that he probably had, or at least had at some point, suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as well. It didn't do his ego any favours at all.

"Don't you dare, boy," he said, slowly pronouncing each word, "Never, ever, call me that again," he hissed, his ghostly pale fangs visible behind his lips in his anger.

"...I didn't..." Danny tried to placate him, "I didn't mean..."

"I don't care what you meant!" Vlad yelled.

"Mr. Masters, I believe it is your best interest to calm down," ANII spoke up.

"I am calm!" the man growled, but his every move and word were evidence to the contrary.

"Sure you are," Danny whispered but Vlad could, of course hear him and his growled again at the boy.

"Antagonising him will not help, Mr. Fenton," the AI said.

"Hey, I didn't mean to, and he's the one acting all..." he trailed off when Vlad let out an angry, pained whimper.

He was leaning over the computer console, his hand once more clutching at his head and his at his white hair, pulling strands from his usually, perfect ponytail as his fingers tightened their grip. His breathing was heavier than it had been moments ago and his skin, though still pale, was flushing.

"...Erm...Vlad..." Danny began slowly again, approaching him as one would a wild animal, "Look, I didn't mean..." he said, as he got close enough to attempt to lay a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Don't," he warned, without even looking up, "Just...go," he said.

"But I..."

"...Please," Vlad begged, quietly and Danny was too shocked to reply. So with a reluctant sigh, Danny hovered in the air before he disappeared through the ceiling and back to his room, leaving Vlad alone with the troubling realisation that he was more like his father than he wanted to admit.

* * *

"Mr. Fenton," a voice spoke out and Danny jumped again.

"Wha...geez...don't do that," he sighed on seeing the glowing projection of ANII, appear on the television screen which had turned itself on. "What is it with you and Vlad and making me jump. How'd you do that, anyway?" he asked.

"I have access to all technology in the castle, I simply hacked into this television set to talk to you."

"Does Vlad know you did that?"

"...He does not."

"Are you allowed to do stuff behind his back?"

"I am programmed to think for myself but not to act against my creator, I do not reason that this is harmful to him."

"What, just by talking to me?" Danny scoffed, "How's that gonna..."

"By telling you that Mr. Masters was suffering from a panic attack," she stated.

"Wait...Vlad? A panic attack?" he repeated, "What, really?"

"Yes, really."

"Well...what...how, he was fine and then he just..."

"Something you said or did must have triggered it."

"Something I said? But I don't even know what I said to make him flip," Danny sighed, "Way to go, Fenton," he muttered, falling down onto his bed. "Is he...okay?" he asked after a moment.

"He is well versed in controlling panic attacks."

"I don't even wanna..."

"He will be well soon."

"Should I, I dunno, go back down and...talk to him?"

"That could trigger another attack," she pointed out.

"...Fine..." he muttered, "Thanks for...erm...telling me."

* * *

"Jazz," Danny whispered, quietly shaking his sister's shoulder as she slept, "Jazz, wake up, come on, this is important," he said and she slowly came to.

"What is it with you and waking me up lately?" she grumbled without opening her eyes.

"It's important," he related and floated to sit in one of the chairs by the closed curtains.

"Okay...fine," Jazz yawned and sat up, rubbing her eyes, "What is it?"

"...I just made Vlad have a panic attack," he stated quickly.

"Wait, what?"

"And I don't even know what I said or why he..."

"Wait, slow down," she said, suddenly wide awake, "How do you even know it was a panic attack?"

"Because, well, long story, it just was okay?"

"Danny," she frowned.

"I didn't know what it was but ANII told me and I..."

"Who's ANII?"

"Vlad's talking...I mean, his AI," he answered, "But that's not the..."

"Danny...are you sure you're awake?"

"Of course I am, Vlad has a talking computer, AI...thing and she told me that's what it was, okay?!" he huffed. "He's a freaking genius billionaire, it's not that hard to believe, is it?"

"...Okay..."

"Anyway, I found out he was keeping track of my ghost powers and I think I actually believed him when he said he was doing it for my own good, but I kinda flipped out when he said it 'is I don't like the idea of being spied on."

"And Vlad obviously doesn't care about that," she said.

"He said if I don't keep track of this new power or whatever, it could land me in hospital...or someone else could get hurt. We were just talking and he just...he just went nuts, Jazz," he sighed. "He really looked scared for a second, and that's just weird 'cos he's never scared, especially of me and I..."

"Take a breath, Danny," his sister said calmly and he did so, reluctantly, "This really got under your skin, didn't it?"

"Well, I don't even know what I did in the first place. I've never seen anyone like that."

"You've never seen anyone have a panic attack before," Jazz pointed out.

"I don't think I want to...I don't think **he** wanted to see either...he made me leave," Danny shrugged.

"That's probably for the best."

"Maybe I should've stayed, maybe I..."

"I don't think that's a good idea, if something you said make him think about things that he didn't want to then..."

"What? What did I make him think about? I don't..."

"Panic attacks happen when people are scared for their lives," Jazz explained, "He was a victim of serious physical abuse when he was a kid, it's no surprise he has panic attacks."

"Y'mean he probably had more?" Danny blinked, "She said that but I didn't..."

"I doubt this is his first one," she said sadly, "And it probably won't be his last, either."

* * *

*1 Mentioned by the Guys in White in 'Double Cross my Heart."

* * *

A.N. I actually have no idea about how panic attacks work, but after the life I gave Vlad in my last story, I think it would follow that he'd have some traces of PTSD and have panic attacks. I'm really giving poor Vlad a hard time, aren't I, but I am trying to humanise him and trust me, things will get better...eventually.


	14. Who, Or What, Is Plasmius?

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 14: Who, Or What, Is Plasmius?**

* * *

Jazz knew that even after Danny left her room in the early hours of the morning, that he wouldn't sleep at all, and he'd be too tired for breakfast when it came. When she went to wake him a few hours later, she was proven correct. He was completely exhausted and having been woken by her brother in the night, she herself was the last one to sit down in the dining room as her breakfast was brought out. She glanced at Vlad and besides the fact that he had faint, dark circles under his eyes, he looked perfectly normal.

"Jasmine," he said calmly, "Good morning, where is your brother?"

"Err...I think he was up pretty late last night," she said pointedly, "He really didn't wanna get up, I tried," she shrugged.

"No matter," the older hybrid shrugged elegantly.

"What d'you..."

"Argh!" Danny suddenly yelled, his voice echoing through the castle, "What the hell?! I mean...what the heck?!"

"Vlad...what did you do?" Jazz turned to him carefully but he said nothing.

"VLAD!" Danny screamed in anger, surprising all but one at the table. With a barely contained grin, Vlad turned his attention to his breakfast and began to eat it.

A few minutes later, Danny stormed into the room, hastily dressed, followed by Iskra and Nika, Vlad's new hunting dogs. "You jerk! You did this, didn't you?!" he demanded and Jazz smiled as one of the dogs sauntered across to her and began to lick her hand despite her surprise at seeing two strange animals in the room.

"What is it I'm supposed to have done?" Vlad asked with a perfectly straight face.

"You made those...dogs...wake me up like that. They were on my bed! On my bed! And they weren't there earlier! They nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you're a jerk! A...stupid jerk face with a bad sense of humour! That's why!"

"It was a little bit funny," Jazz admitted, stifling another laugh.

"It was very funny!" Viktoria giggled, "Very funny!" she said and that was when Danny finally noticed that Vlad's family were sat around the table, all in varying stages of amusement at his expense. He'd probably be laughing too if he wasn't the butt of the joke.

"This is 'cos I tried to max out your credit card, isn't it?" Danny pursed his lip, choosing not to mention Vlad's panic attack in front of his family. "And another thing err...where'd they come from, anyway?"

"From a business associate, last night," he answered simply and Danny sat down.

"Huh...never took you for a dog person...thought you'd get a lonely guy c...argh!" he broke off when his sister kicked his leg. "Err...never mind," he muttered as a plate of food was set down in front of him.

"So, I don't think you introduced us to your godchildren, Vladimir," Alexei stated, "I am Alexei Petrov, and you are?" he glanced at Danny.

"Danny Fenton...sir, this is my sister, Jazz...Jasmine," he added, unused to calling her anything other than her nickname.

"My daughter, Valya," he said and she nodded briefly, "And my mother..."

"Yeah, we...err...we met," Danny muttered, remembering their, or at least, his awkwardly worded conversation with the woman.

"Good, now we are all knowing each other, we can eat," Alexei said, ignoring the fact that Vlad was already doing do.

* * *

After a while, Danny, his sister and Viktoria made their escape and the young girl was happy to see that there was a stables on the castles grounds. She wasted no time in mounting one of the large horses and proving to a nervous Helena that she could ride very well despite her age and short stature.

The three of them were still in the cobbled courtyard when Vlad emerged with his uncle and both dogs at his heels some time later. Both Vlad and Alexei held a shotgun which made Danny pale; ecto guns he was acclimatised to, actual guns made him cringe.

"Err...Vlad...where are you going with that?" he asked nervously.

"Hunting," he answered, "These are hunting dogs, I want to see how well they're trained to work."

"So you're gonna go shoot something just to see..."

"I intend to eat the pheasants we shoot," Vlad said incredulously, "You don't think I'd let them go to waste when I've paid for them, do you?"

"Those birds...those pheasants out there?" Danny stared out at the fields, he recalled seeing some when he'd gone riding with Vlad, "You're gonna eat them?"

"These are award winning birds, Daniel, I didn't buy them just to look at them."

"But that's...you can't just kill them."

"The last time I checked, you weren't averse to eating meat," Vlad raised an eyebrow.

"No, but..."

"If you want to eat meat, an animal has to die, it's not complicated. The difference is, I'm desensitised to that fact and you're not, I'll quite happily go out and provide the animal," Vlad told him, "It's perfectly legal on my own grounds," he added.

"I know that," Danny sighed.

"Then relax, I'm not expecting you to shoot anything."

"Y...you're not?" the younger hybrid blinked. He'd feared for a moment that Vlad had come out looking for him and expected him to do it, if nothing else, then in retaliation for causing his panic attack last night. But the older hybrid seemed content to never mention it and Danny had no intention of doing so in front of other people, or at least until he worked up the nerve to ask.

"Of course not," Vlad scoffed incredulously.

"Then...what are you doing out here?"

"Sir?" Helena coughed lightly and walked over, holding the reigns of Vlad's black Friesian mare and a second horse for Alexei with a pale brown coat and a black mane.

"Ah," Vlad turned to her and handed her the shotgun whilst he climbed into the saddle, "Thank you," he said quietly, taking the gun back and his uncle did the same. "I suggest that the three of you stay close to the castle until we return," he told the children, making a point to gesture to the gun that he held.

"No problem," Jazz nodded before Danny could speak.

Vlad gave a brief nod in reply before he urged the horse to move forwards, whistling to the dogs to follow as he made his way under the archway and out into the fields.

"I have never eaten a pheasant before," Vikki remarked as they watched Vlad and Alexei ride off, flanked with a dog on either side.

"I have," Helena said, "And I can't wait to again."

"You get to eat them too?" the young girl asked.

"He usually brings enough back for everyone who works here," she shrugged.

"That is nice," Vikki said.

"I guess it is," Danny mumbled.

* * *

"Why do you not ask them to join you?" Alexei asked Vlad as soon as they were out into the field.

"Who? Daniel and Jasmine?" he raised an eyebrow, "Don't be ridiculous, they wouldn't enjoy hunting at all."

"But they will eat the animal?"

"Yes, like most people," Vlad shrugged, "But it's not really surprising, is it?"

"I suppose not," his uncle agreed, "But it is not a good way to think, it would be better for them to learn otherwise."

"Maybe, but I'm not going to make them kill something just to prove a point," he said, remembering the first time he'd been made to hunt by his father. It wasn't exactly a fond memory. His choice had been simple; shoot the bird or he himself would be shot and he'd been old enough to know that Vladislav Masters would have followed through with that threat.

"Mmm-hmm," Alexei hummed.

* * *

When he heard the first shot ring out from across the grounds, Danny twitched and glanced uselessly out, as though searching for the shooter. The sound was so unlike that of an ecto-gun but it wasn't helped that it was quickly followed by a second and a third shot.

"Relax, Danny," his sister told him calmly.

"...Huh...right," he muttered back, "Relax...right, yeah...if only."

* * *

At the same time, Rosalyn Masters heard the shots from deep inside the castle and made her way over to the nearest window that overlooked the grounds. She briefly saw a black blur move rapidly over the fields before she turned her attention back to the room that held her so transfixed.

It was the first locked door she'd come across in the entire castle and she couldn't deny that her curiosity was beginning to overrule her better judgement. As far she she could tell it was locked simply with a key; there didn't seem to be any kind of technology that'd she'd come to associate with Vlad, it didn't even need a key code.

Even as she removed a hair pin from her now grey, but no less elaborate hairstyle, and knelt down to the lock on the door, part of her knew what she was doing was a gross invasion of her son's privacy. Aside from the fact that Rosalyn was ashamed to admit to her lock picking skills, she was more ashamed of the cause than of the outcome itself and she was more than a little sure that Vlad knew the skill as well. They'd both had to learn; they'd had little choice. Vladislav had taken to locking them in the coldest rooms of his manor, first his wife and then his son, often leaving them for hours, with no way out other than their wits.

She couldn't deny that she was curious about Vlad. There was something different about him that she'd never quite been able to put into words. It was usually just something small that she'd seen out of the corner of her eye but those things would stick with her and she couldn't forget them. Rosalyn didn't for a moment think that she'd find anything to explain anything in a single, locked room, but with no one around and her curiosity growing, she continued.

It took her less than a few minutes to unlock the door.

The room was dark so she scoured the walls for a light switch and once the room was illuminated she could see that it was filled with portraits and statues of one man. He was rather portly with white hair and a mustache which was a sharp contrast to his deep red robe. In every image he was proudly holding a golden staff topped curiously with an ice cream cone and his hat seemed to be shaped like a large block of cheese.

Though she didn't know who the man was, it was clear that **he** had wanted everyone to know because everything in the room had the words 'The Dairy King' written or engraved on it.

The walls were a mix of oak paneling from the floor half way up, from which they were a deep green to the ceiling which was again, laced with old wooden panels and the floor was covered in Persian rugs which protected the old flor boards. It gave the room a womb like atmosphere but the large, lead lined windows added light, and like every window in the castle, they too, had excellent views of the grounds.

One wall in particular was different from the others though, it was made mostly of glass and on closer inspection, Rosalyn saw that it was actually a large fridge freezer with white shelves and a chrome frame. It was filled with cheese, milk, ice cream and other dairy products which, naturally, was a rather strange thing to see in a locked room.

There was an old desk in the corner of the room and on it was a single, handwritten note, which Rosalyn examined quickly.

'This room not only contains all of your old possessions, but a varied selection of dairy products as well. It will be restocked every month. In return, I expect you to stay out of my way and DO NOT, under any circumstances, reveal your existence to anyone else in the castle or steal from my kitchens. There will be consequences if you do. 

\- Plasmius.' *1

She could easily recognise her son's handwriting, but she had no idea what any of it meant. Who or what was 'Plasmius?' And what did it all mean?

"Oh dear, you're not supposed to be in here, don't ya know?" a voice suddenly said.

Rosalyn dropped the note in her surprise and turned around to see the Dairy King himself before her. In less than a second, though, she could tell that this was not quite the same Dairy King as was portrayed though out the room. For one thing, his skin was green and the obvious fact, of course, was that he was floating and he had a faint, pale glow emanating from his very being. It was a rather eerie sight for someone not accustomed to seeing ghosts.

Her eyebrows rose in shock as she opened her mouth to speak but didn't know what she could possibly say. "...I...you're..." she breathed, taking slow steps to circle the ghost, making sure that he was really floating and that it wasn't some kind of trick.

"I'm...what?"

"You're...floating," she said, calmly stating a fact. After all she'd lived through, she wasn't the type to scream when faced with something new, however appealing the idea was.

"You betcha," he smiled.

"And you're green."

"Who'd 'a thought it, aye?"

"You can't be..." Rosalyn blinked. She'd seen some strange things in her life, but this one had to be one of the strangest. "You're like them," she muttered.

At first she'd tried to convince herself that she'd been seeing things, that she was tired and hadn't really seen what she thought she'd seen. But clearly she had. She remembered seeing three taking, green glowing vultures when she'd first visited Vlad in his castle. That had been some time ago and she hadn't thought she'd ever see something like that again.

"Like who?" he asked kindly.

"What are you?"

"Why, I'm a ghost," he answered, "What'd ya expect I'd be, I am a floatin' an' all."

"...A ghost?" she repeated.

"Yep," the Dairy King nodded.

"So...you're the ghost of...dairy products?" Rosalyn furrowed her brow, shooting a brief glance at the wall of refrigerated dairy products.

"I guess you could be sayin' 'dat," he agreed.

"And all this is yours?"

"Oh, aye, all mine," he grinned, spreading his arms, "From Plasmius, I think he got a tired of me stealin' his food, d'ere, don't ya know."

"...Plasmius? What...who's Plasmius?"

"Why, he's the ghost what lives here, don't ya know d'at much?" he answered.

"I...this...Plasmius...he lives here?"

"Oh, aye, moved in a while ago," the ghost nodded, "Thought it was strange, no one else wanted t'live 'ere, it being haunted, d'at's right. But he's a ghost hisself, so it works a treat, there, and I get all this as well. I just get a tad lonely here all by myself, he's not much of a talker, there, don't ya know."

"..."

"Y'should probably go a'fore he finds y'here though," he said, "He's got a bad temper, an' we all know it."

"We?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Why, all d' ghosts knows it," the Dairy King said sagely, "Now don't you be gettin' on d' wrong side of Vlad Plasmius, they all says, otherwise y'be in some trouble, there..."

Rosalyn's eyes widened as the ghost said the name 'Vlad' and the Dairy King stopped talking at bet reaction. "Y'really didn't know all this, did ya?" he asked, "Oh dear, now I'm in trouble, there."

"What, I don't..." she began but without another word, the ghost flew up through the ceiling and left her alone, feeling confused and really, rather guilty.

* * *

Most of the time, Vlad employed a single chef to cater to his every culinary whim and desire, but on days such as today, when he knew that they'd need help to pluck and cook the considerable number of birds, he gave Jacob the chance to bring in some extra help.

"I think you brought us enough to feed a small army," Jacob told him as Vlad lifted the last bird onto the marble kitchen counter.

"That is the idea," Vlad remarked.

"What'd you want us to make then, sir?" the cook asked, appraising the prize winning birds with an experienced eye.

"Surprise me."

* * *

"Vlad?" Rosalyn spoke quietly as her son made his way through the open pathway that joined the kitchens to the castle. It was set around an old, medieval style courtyard with a pond in the middle and plants growing on all four walls surrounding it and it was quite beautiful.

"Yes?" he asked, stopping in his tracks to look at her and his riding boots clicked against the old stone floor as he haunted abruptly. The two dogs that followed him happily stopped as well add sat down at his feet.

"I..." she began, not exactly sure how to tell him that she'd invaded his privacy and felt awful about doing so. Not to mention that she'd spoken to a ghost and that she had good reason to suspect that her son was one of them, although, how that was possible, she wasn't sure. Vlad looked human to her. She knew Vlad was human; he was her son. It wasn't possible that he was a ghost.

"What?" Vlad asked as he walked across to her, shifting the two shotguns he held so that he was holding both in his left hand.

"I erm, didn't get a chance to ask about your business meeting yesterday..." she said instead, "How did it go?"

Though he looked sceptical, Vlad didn't question her as he answered, "Very well," he said, "Otherwise I doubt I'd have gotten their gift last night," he glanced down at the hunting dogs.

"Did you find out how it had been..."

"Of course I did," he answered quickly.

"And, who was it?" Rosalyn asked, fearing that she knew the answer. She knew not to assume anything, but she knew that her husband, ever since he'd learned about Vlad's lucrative business, had been jealous of his own son. She'd been expecting something like this to happen for a while.

"Don't you know?" he raised an eyebrow, a gesture she knew that he'd picked up from her.

"I have an idea," she said, "But I don't have any proof...but you do, I take it?"

"Yes," he said, whistling to the dogs and starting to walk back into the castle.

Rosalyn followed him, neither one saying anything until he reached a room filled with guns and ammunition, some antiques and some fit for use. Most were in display cabinets or fixed to the pale blue walls in the light, open room and their footsteps echoed over the hardwood floor.

"It was your father, wasn't it?" she breathed quietly, bracing both hands on one of the display units.

Vlad didn't need to say anything to her, instead he shot her a look that told her all she needed to know and she sighed deeply, "I'm sorry," she said.

"Why? You didn't do it," he said, laying both shotguns down onto a table.

"I may as well have done."

"I don't understand," Vlad admitted.

"He only did it because I left the manor and came here, because I brought Valya here to you and not to him. You know how jealous he is and how stupid the man is," she scoffed.

"Because you came here?" he repeated.

"Yes. I'd have come more often, only I..."

"What?" he pressed, narrowing his eyes.

"Only this would have happened more often," she said, "He would have taken everything from you. Don't you understand, Vlad?" she sighed, "He's telling you that he could do far worse than reschedule a business meeting if he wanted to...and he will if I don't go back."

"You can't!" Vlad exclaimed suddenly, unable to stop himself.

"I don't have a choice. I came here to help Valya and Viktoria; they're here now and I want you to promise me that you'll look after them. I know you care about them."

"I really don't see why you'd want to..."

"I'm sorry, but it'll be better for you if I just..."

"Listen to me!" her son ordered, his voice echoing through the room. "I don't care why he did it. I'm no stranger to sabotage and I know how to deal with it, I don't need you to protect me, not from him or from anyone else."

"That's not going to stop me from..."

"Trust me when I say that I more than capable of looking after myself and my business," he said in a tone that left her with little room for denial. "You should have told me about this sooner."

"I didn't want to think that he'd really done it," she sighed, "I just..."

"I don't mean his stupid attempt at sabotage," Vlad waved a dismissive hand, "I mean him holding you hostage."

"He wasn't holding me hostage, Vlad, I stayed willingly..."

"Because he blackmailed you," he finished for her, "But you don't need to protect me now. You're staying here with Valya, because she needs you, and as a caring relative, you're going to do what's best for her."

"I have; I brought her here."

"And that's it then, is it?" he shook his head, "You've done what you wanted and now you'll leave again?"

"You know it's not like that," Rosalyn replied sadly.

"Do you want to leave?"

"No."

"Then don't," he said, simply and she slowly nodded, perhaps it was time that she acted selfishly for a change. She'd missed enough of Vlad's life in the last decade or so, and though it was difficult to consider the idea of letting her son fend for himself against his father, she knew that now Vlad was aware of her protection, that he'd do everything to get her to stop. He was too stubborn for his own good, but, then again, so was she.

Though she'd explained one part of what made her feel so guilty, she'd yet to explain her earlier discovery of the Dairy King and his hoard of refrigerated dairy products. She knew she had to, she owed him that much.

"There was...one other thing I wanted to talk to you about," Rosalyn began.

* * *

*1 I remember reading something like this idea somewhere, I honestly can't think where I read it, but it's just such a great idea and it seems like it could actually happen in the show so I had to include it here. My hat goes off to the original story writer though and if anyone can think of the story name and author, I'll happily name drop them in here.


	15. Talking Is Never Easy

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 15: Talking Is Never Easy**

* * *

"Yes?" Vlad asked, staring at his mother, who for once, seemed at a loss for words. She was moving in slow steps across the room, her eyes seemingly fixated on her hands as she paced.

"I..." she frowned, "I just..."

Whatever she was going to say, Vlad never got to hear, because his phone suddenly ran in his pocket, and with his father's sabotage still at the forefront of his mind, he took it out and stared at the screen, surprised to recognise Danny's phone number, rather than anyone's from his company.

"Daniel?" he frowned, recognising the number, "I..."

"Vlad, it's Jazz, you need to..."

"How did you get this..." he began to ask suddenly but he trailed of after listening to the young woman speak.

"You text Danny and I called the number," she snapped, "Look...Danny just...he just fainted and I don't know what to do. He's freezing and I..."

"Is anyone else..."

"No, we were riding in the woods and Vikki went off with her granddad, but..."

"Don't move," he snapped, "Do you understand me?"

"Trust me, that's not gonna be a problem," she replied cryptically, "Just...hurry up."

"What's wrong?" Rosalyn asked, having only heard his half of the conversation as Vlad pocketed his phone.

"I have to go," he said quickly, "It's important."

"...Of course," she gave a weak smile, partly in relief that she didn't have to get admit to her discovery.

* * *

In his haste, Vlad didn't even bother to morph into his ghost half; unlike Danny, he had access to probably around 90% of his ghost powers even in his human form, so he took off through the walls of the castle.

He'd been so preoccupied with his mother's confession that he'd been neglecting to sense the younger hybrid's ecto signature, but now that he could fully focus on tracking it, he could sense that it was extremely erratic, worryingly so, as he flew through the dense woodland. If he knew exactly where they were, he could have simply teleported, but a ghost had to know the destination to do so. Despite that, it didn't take Vlad long to reach them and he came to a stop right in front of the children without a hair out of place.

Danny was lying on the ground, unconscious and his sister was kneeling beside him, the horses they'd been riding were stood a short distance away, uselessly nibbling at the grass on which they stood.

"Vlad..." Jazz breathed, looking down at her hand. It was frozen in a solid block of ice which was slowly creeping up her arm from where she'd come into contact with her brother's, now very pale, arm.

Muttering at his own stupidity under his breath, Vlad knelt beside the young woman and raised a hand over her frozen limb. His own started to glow a deep red and the ice melted away within seconds.

Vlad knew why this was happening, and it was all his fault. He'd said that he was going to help the boy to control his new power and for one night he'd made good on that promise, but last night he'd been so busy, so preoccupied with his father and then his...difficulty in the lab...that he hadn't had time to even think about Danny's problems. He'd made the younger hybrid release the pent up energy once and then done nothing; that was a recipe for disaster, how could he have forgotten that?

"Get back," he ordered Jazz who was rubbing her unfrozen hand, trying to rid herself of the uncomfortable tingling she was now feeling in her fingers.

She took a few cautionary steps backwards, watching as Vlad and her brother were suddenly encased in a shimmering ghostly powered shield of ectoplasm. "Daniel!" Vlad barked, shaking the boy by the shoulders in a futile attempt to wake him up.

The young hybrid was cold as ice and his ragged breath was releasing bursts of floating blue air. Vlad's senses told him that it was a mix of his powers warning him that there was a ghostly activity, namely Vlad's powerful shield, and of his cryogenic abilities trying to break through.

"Vlad?" Jazz spoke quietly, walking up to the shield.

"Don't!" he hissed, turning his frustrated glare at her whilst not releasing Danny from his grip. "Just stay where you are!"

"Why?"

"You need to ask?!" Vlad scoffed, "If you hadn't managed to call me when you did, you'd be frozen solid!"

She gave a dejected sigh, knowing that she couldn't argue with that, so she took a step back, feeling guilty that she could do nothing to help her own brother, but hoping that Vlad could.

Worried by how cold the boy was, Vlad raised the temperature inside his dome like shield and tried again to wake him up. When it became clear that it wasn't enough, Vlad gave Danny a small jolt with a very weak charge of electricity from his finger.

"...Urgh..." the young hybrid hissed, trying to flinch away from the direction the attack had come from.

"Wake up, boy," Vlad hissed, shocking him again.

"...Nmmm..." Danny shivered, curling in on himself as his teeth chattered, "...C...cold...s...s...so...c...c...cold..." he stammered.

"Look at me," the man ordered.

"...V...Vlad?" Danny frowned, forcing open his tired eyes to look up at him.

As he opened his eyes, Vlad saw that they were glowing a pale blue and it gave him enough time to raise a hand and protect himself against the ghostly ice powers that shot from them like laser beams a second later. The energy was easily absorbed into his hand but as it crackled with the remnants of his power, Danny held his breath, realising what he'd just done. He tightly shut his eyes again, not wanting to lose control and attack the man a second time.

"No, Daniel, open your eyes," Vlad told him.

"...No..." he ground out, "I...I just...I just...a...attacked...y...you..."

"And I dealt with it," Vlad said simply, "You have to stop worrying about that, you really can't hurt me whether you're trying or not."

"...J...jerk..." Danny muttered as he breathed out more pale blue air.

"Yes, yes," he dismissed, and suddenly he made the temperature rise even further, it was probably around 26 degrees Celsius inside his shield so far.

"W...wait, is it...is it getting warmer in here?"

"Yes, and it's going to keep getting warmer until you lower the temperature," Vlad answered.

"...How?"

"Use your powers," the man said, raising the temperature again, "30 degrees Celsius so far and I can withstand a lot more than you can."

"But how do I..."

"35," Vlad said simply, noting that Danny was no longer shivering.

"I..."

"40."

"...Okay...now it's too hot...it's really too hot!" Danny yelled, "Vlad!"

"Then stop me."

With a cry of frustration, Danny let out a blast of cold air and it hit Vlad's shield with a loud cracking noise. The ground inside the dome was now frozen solid, each individual blade of grass was as hard as stone under the strong ghostly layer of ice in now lay. Vlad himself was glowing a faint red and Danny guessed that it was the only thing that had protected the man from becoming a frozen statue again.

Vlad released a breath that he'd been holding for what felt like hours as he helped Danny to sit up, "How do you feel?" he asked.

"...Like I just went nine rounds with the Ghost King..." the boy muttered tiredly, "Urgh...what happened?"

"You fell off your horse," Jazz answered.

"Is that it?" Danny frowned, "Really?"

"No," Vlad said, "You fell from your horse because your ghost powers overwhelmed you again and you have exhausted them in trying to control them."

"Great," the young hybrid mumbled, "Just great...What's up with the hand, Jazz?" he asked, seeing that she was still rubbing at the skin of her hand.

"Erm...nothing, it's fine," she shrugged casually.

"You froze it," Vlad told him, not one to sugar coat the truth.

"Vlad," she hissed, but he ignored her.

"I...Jazz?" Danny looked up at his sister.

"It's fine Danny," she shrugged and wiggled her fingers for him, "See, really, nothing wrong with it."

"Oh, man...I'm really, really sorry," her brother sighed.

"It's not your fault, you didn't..."

"Of course it's my fault, they're **my** powers," Danny exclaimed.

"Which I encouraged you to start using," Vlad stood up, "And gave you no direction for last night," he scrubbed a hand through his hair.

Danny and Jazz exchanged a nervous glance before they both turned their eyes to look at the older hybrid. "...You were...erm...busy..." Danny bravely said and his sister squeezed his shoulder gently, cautioning him against saying anything further. "I mean...your dad tried to sabotage you and all..." he said, his voice trailing off.

"...This can't happen again, Daniel," Vlad let out a shaky breath, "There are too many people here."

"Hey, if I could control it, d'you really think I'd..."

"It's not about control, not at first. You just have to keep using the power, even if it's only for a few minutes every day to acclimatise yourself; you can't just bottle it up and hope for the best."

"It's worked before," Danny mumbled and the older hybrid scoffed.

"Of course it has, that's why we're having this conversation, after all," he said, walking over to the oblivious horses before he leapt up into the saddle of one of them.

"Hey, what're you doing? How am I supposed to..." Danny exclaimed as Vlad sat up in the saddle of the horse that he'd been riding.

"You're not fit to be riding alone and clearly you don't trust me enough to ride with me, so you'll have to ride back with your sister," the man said, "Or you can walk."

"What?!"

"Get on the horse," he ordered again and Danny sighed reluctantly.

"I could just fly back," the boy said petulantly.

"I wouldn't advise it," Vlad replied as Danny made to morph into his ghost half.

The pale, glowing rings vanished only after a slip second without transforming him, instead, they'd fizzled out, leaving him feeling even more drained than he already was. "I warned you," the man rolled his eyes.

"What gives?" Danny held a hand to his aching head, "Why can't I go ghost?"

"Because you exhausted your powers, really, don't you listen to a word I say?" Vlad replied, "Now, if you would," he said, gesturing with his eyes for Danny to get onto the second horse with Jazz.

However reluctant he was to admit that Vlad was right, Danny couldn't deny it this time; he was far too tired, so he raised his hand and let his sister pull him up from the ground and together, they sat astride the second horse. Without another word, Vlad began to lead them through the woods at a slow walk with a tense atmosphere which was impossible to ignore.

"Hey...Vlad...can I, erm, ask you something?" Danny began carefully after he could take the silence no more, "And...promise you won't freak out?"

"That depends on the question," Vlad answered evasively.

"Danny, don't," Jazz warned her brother quietly, momentarily forgetting that the older hybrid had the ability to hear her.

"...Last night," he said, "What happened...I mean, to you?"

Vlad hesitated for a moment before he spoke, "I hacked into my father's company," he said simply.

"Yeah, I got that part," Danny laughed nervously, "But I didn't mean that."

"I don't think this is..." Jazz whispered to him again.

"Quit it, Jazz," he muttered back quickly.

"You know I **can** hear you both," Vlad said and they both shared a guilty look.

"Right," Danny said.

"Sorry," his sister replied at the same time.

"What do you want me to say, Daniel?" the older hybrid shrugged.

"Just...tell me what the heck happened...please..."

"Well, it was all rather simple, the guards were easy to slip past but the motion sensors were actually rather..."

"Will you knock it off with that, I meant when you had a panic attack!" Danny blurted out and instantly wished he hadn't.

Jazz put her head in her hand whilst keeping the reins of the horse in the other as she sighed heavily at her brother's stupidity. Whatever angry speech Vlad would probably give him would be well deserved; Vlad couldn't have made it clearer that he didn't want to talk about what had happened and though it would be better for him to talk about it, she didn't want to be the one to do it. As much as she enjoyed overthinking people's inner psychology, she wasn't qualified to do so, and someone who was suffered as much as Vlad surely needed a professional, not two adolescents to talk to. If indeed, he'd talk at all.

"...It doesn't matter," Vlad shook his head, "And I don't want to..."

"Well, I do," Danny snapped, "What if it happens again? What if..."

"It's not your concern whether it does or doesn't happen. This isn't your problem to..."

"The heck it isn't," the young hybrid, "I couldn't do anything back there and I..."

"It's better for all concerned if you just...never mentioned it again, ever, to anyone," Vlad said.

"But it was my fault, wasn't it? You only...y'know...because I said something..."

"Don't!" the older hybrid hissed quickly, turning his horse around slightly so that he could glare at Danny with red eyes.

"I don't even know what it was I said to make you..."

"That's enough!"

"If I don't even know what I said then I might say it again and you'll..."

"Daniel!"

"I'm only trying to help!"

"Then help me by not talking!"

"What, ever?"

"If necessary, yes!"

"If the school bullies can't make me shut up, I'm sure as heck, you can't," Danny said stubbornly.

Vlad let out a hiss of annoyance and tugged at the reigns of his horse so that it walked forwards again, keeping his back to Danny and his sister so that they couldn't see his shaking hands.

"...Danny..." Jazz whispered sadly.

"What?" he muttered back.

"Maybe you should stop now."

"He can still hear us, y'know," Danny told her uselessly.

"I know that," she ground out.

They said nothing else as they followed Vlad out of the woods, in silence, and soon, the castle became visible through the trees, but still, Vlad said nothing. Fortunately, the stables were all but deserted as they passed under the stone arch and dismounted. Vlad took the reigns of both horses and blinked down at Danny.

"Go to the kitchens, you can help the cooks with tonight's meal. At least that way, I won't have to look at you," he said, "Or hear you," he added.

"Wait, what?!" Danny exclaimed.

"I won't tell you again."

"You want me to cook?! No way! You can't make me..."

"Do you want to starve for the next few weeks?" he threatened.

"...You wouldn't," Danny glared at him.

"Try me," Vlad sneered, walking off, leading the horses away.

"Urgh...that...that...JERK!" the young hybrid yelled after him with clenched fists.

"I did warn you, Danny," Jazz said to him.

"Gah!" her brother groaned, throwing up his arms in defeat.

* * *

Vlad found his mother waiting for him as he entered the castle and she followed him into the, otherwise empty sitting room.

"What was wrong?" she asked him.

"A simple riding accident," Vlad shrugged, "Nothing serious."

"Hmmm," Rosalyn hummed,

"What as it you wanted to ask me?"

"Nothing...it's really not important," she smiled, kindly.

"It looked it."

"It isn't," Rosalyn replied, "Really, I..."

"Vlad, you in there?" Danny spoke suddenly and cautiously peered his head around the half open door. When he saw Vlad and his mother standing there, though, he seemed to step back a little. "Erm...hi...am I interrupting something..." he muttered quietly.

"What do you want, Daniel?" Vlad slowly turned his attention to the young hybrid hovering by the doorway.

"Heh..." Danny breathed nervously, "You weren't actually serious about making me help in the kitchen...were you?"

"Quite serious," Vlad said stoically.

"But I don't know how to cook!"

"Then perhaps it's time you learned," Vlad shot back, trying and failing to reign in his temper in front of his mother.

"What if I don't want to learn?" Danny asked bravely.

"I don't care what you want right now," the older hybrid hissed, his anger now enraged by Danny's defiance, "Just do what I say or so help me, I'll..."

"Vlad," his mother breathed, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. Just a glance from her seemed to placate him and his anger fizzled away, leaving him feeling tired and old.

"Just...go away," Vlad breathed out a shaky breath.

"Erm...okay...but do I still have to..."

"I...don't care," the man muttered and Danny took that as his cue to leave.

"Perhaps you're the one who needs to talk, not me," Rosalyn said to Vlad a minute later.

* * *

Danny retreated to his room as quickly as he could and found that his sister was already sitting down by the window, waiting for him.

"So...good news," he announced, "I don't have to cook."

"So we get to live another day without dying of food poisoning," she laughed.

"Hey, I've never cooked anything more complicated than toast, what am I supposed to do?" he muttered back and stared at the blank television screen. "Hey...ANII...you in there?" he spoke, momentarily thinking that maybe he was mad.

"Yes, Mr. Fenton," the familiar automated voice replied and Jazz jumped.

"Holy...what is that?!" she exclaimed, watching the swirling rings of formulaic symbols swirling around the glowing core.

"I told you, she's Vlad's AI," her brother answered, "Y'know how you hacked into this tv...y'think you can link up a vid chat with Sam and Tucker?" he asked the AI.

"Samantha Manson and Tucker Foley. I do not believe that will be a problem," she said.

"Okay, just...how did you know who they are?"

"I have access to Mr. Masters' ghost files, they are listed in your file as allies."

"Oh...okay then...wait, he has a file on me...oh, duh, of course he does."

"Do you wish me to initiate the video chat now?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Why are you asking...her...to do it?" Jazz asked him.

"Well, I wanted you to see I wasn't crazy," he shrugged, "And you gotta admit, it is really cool. She's probably quicker than me anyway, I mean, she is kind of a machine."

"Huh," she breathed, watching as the screen suddenly displayed side by side footage from both Sam and Tucker's home computers.

"Hey, guys," Danny smiled at them.

"Dude, Vlad didn't waste you!" Tucker exclaimed happily.

"Err...no, he didn't...actually, funny story about that..." the young hybrid began.

* * *

"So, what happened?" Rosalyn questioned gently as she sat down beside her son on the sofa.

"A riding accident, I told you," Vlad said quickly, "Daniel fell from his horse."

"And you decided the best thing for him to do after that would be to help to cook dinner?" she furrowed her brow, "And then shout at the poor boy when he asks you why. You're really not giving him any incentives to get along with you, you know."

"I didn't intend to shout," he replied petulantly.

"But you did," his mother stared at him with her own piercing eyes and he looked away, reluctantly. She was perhaps the only person on the planet capable of making him feel like a child and he didn't like it one bit. In fact, he hated it, but he could never find it in him to hate his mother, his father yes, but not her.

"I did," Vlad agreed, "But it's his own fault," he added.

"Really?" Rosalyn scoffed, "Explain," she demanded.

"I really don't..."

"Vladimir," she scowled at him, making him feel like a misbehaving boy all over again.

There were some things that Vlad could never tell her, things that he could never tell anyone, but together they'd survived years under the same roof as Vladislav Masters and they'd come out of the experience as strong individuals, nonetheless, they were both victims.

"He reminds me too much of...things I rather forget," Vlad uttered quickly.

"Of yourself?" she asked.

"In part, I suppose," he shrugged and stood up. He walked over to the large open window and stared off into the large fields ahead which gave way on either side to the lush woodlands that were all his own.

"Then what else?"

"Mother," he sighed, "I'd rather not even have to think about..."

"This is me, Vlad, I was there too. I know what you went through because I went through it all too, don't you think I'd rather forget it all?"

"Then why do you want me to even have this discussion?" he spun around to glare at her.

"Because you can't forget it all, and neither can I, no matter how much we want to, what happened to us makes us who we are."

"Maybe I don't like the person that those memories make me," he told her. He'd never admit it to anyone else, save for her and they both knew it.

"...I don't think Daniel does, either," she said after a minute, "And you know that making him hate you won't do you any favours."

"He already hates me," Vlad scoffed.

"And whose fault is that?" Rosalyn asked, rhetorically. "Vlad, you don't want to be your father, I know you don't..."

"How do you know what I want?" he growled.

"No child wants to grow up to be the thing they hate and fear they most," she answered simply.

"I'm not a child."

"No, you're not, but he is and he doesn't deserve any of this. It's not your godson's fault you're angry and if you don't stop soon, then going to wake up one morning and find that you're more like your father than you realise. I get angry about what happened as well, but I don't take it out on the people I care about."

"I can't help it," Vlad sneered. "He just makes me think about everything that happened; every time I ever questioned 'why' and I got a new scar to prove it. He doesn't have to fear going home to find out that he's getting another lesson in 'self defence' in front of the staff or that his mother's going to get a black eye trying to protect him from his own father!"

"Vlad..."

"And to make matters worse, the boy even looks like I did," Vlad scoffed ruefully, "And now I look like...him...And it's not fair!"

"No...you're right it isn't," she sighed, "And I'm sorry, I wish I could've..."

"Wasn't your fault," he said quickly, "None of it was."

"It's not Danny's fault either, but I doubt his life is as perfect as you think. Everyone has their own problems, granted yours were much worse, but there's no such thing as a perfect life."

"Mine is," he snapped, "I have everything I could ever want, I'm one of the richest men in the country, I live in a castle, most people would consider that idyllic."

"If your life is so perfect why are you jealous of a fifteen year old boy?" she asked him bluntly.

"I'm...not."

"Yes, you are, you might not want to admit it, but you know you are. You never did deal with jealousy very well."

"I am not jealous of Daniel," Vlad rolled his eyes.

"Well, I was always jealous of other women who didn't have to live with an abusive husband. It wasn't easy for me to deal with," Rosalyn admitted.

"Then how did you?"

"Not well, at first," she said, "I can't tell you how many times I thought about running away, no one would have listened to be back then, I was on my own. And I was angry a lot of the time. You were the only thing that kept me sane."

"But how can you bear to look at me, surely I remind you of him?"

"Of course you did, you still do...every day," she shrugged, "But I care about you far more than I hate him. You are not Vladislav, and Danny isn't you, surely there are some differences between you no matter how much he reminds you of your childhood."

"Yes," he breathed, "There are...a lot of them."

"Then focus on those instead, otherwise he won't stick around even if you explain all this to him."

"...You can still make me feel like a child even in my forties," Vlad sighed at her.

"I **am** a mother, we have a natural ability for it," she smiled.

* * *

A.N. Not the conversation that most people were expecting, I know, but I just couldn't make it that easy for poor Rosalyn, now could I? I really don't know how that last section got so emotional but I figure that if Vlad's going to have an emotional outburst because of everything that's happened, it would have to be with his mother, 'cos really, who else is he gonna trust more?


	16. Double Shock

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 16: Double Shock**

* * *

Danny was sat on the floor, both of Vlad's new hunting dogs lying on either side of him as he gently stroked Nika's soft fur after finishing his lengthy explanation to his friends.

"So...the dogs are Vlad's?" Sam blinked.

"Yep," he nodded.

"And he actually helped you?" she summarised, skeptically.

"Yep," Danny repeated, "And then he yelled at me, I swear the dude's bipolar or something."

"He did ask you not to talk about it," Jazz pointed out.

"Yeah, I know," he shrugged.

"And the dude had a panic attack," Tucker blinked, "Scary."

"Why is that scary?" Sam asked him.

"Well, think about it. If Plasmius can have panic attacks then anyone can!"

"Of course they can," Jazz spoke, "Anyone can, and he was a victim of abuse, remember. It's no wonder he's suffering now. Clockwork told us about everything without Vlad's permission and now we're here it's probably bringing back all those bad memories that he doesn't want to think about. Honestly, I feel kinda sorry for him."

"He doesn't want pity, Jazz," Danny replied, remembering that Vlad had told him as much.

"I know," she said, "I know he doesn't."

"Still can't help it though, right?" he brother muttered.

"I'm not saying it gives him the right to do what he's done to you," Jazz was quick to say, "But I'm just saying...you do look like he did when he was...abused, I doubt he wants to be reminded of that every time he looks at you."

"So, I look like him, that's not my fault! There must be hundreds of people who look like me out there!"

"Yeah, you don't have a very unique look," Sam smirked at and he glared back.

"We can't all pull of the ultra recyclo-veggie, goth, activist look, Sam," Tucker laughed.

"Or the techno geek look," she shot back, "Or the bad luck Tuck look, or the..."

"Okay, guys, I get it," Danny rolled his eyes, "I look normal, I get it, but it's not like I can go to school as Danny Phantom, can I?"

"You could," Tucker shrugged, "Paulina'd love it," he grinned.

"Hey, yeah, maybe I should..." Danny muttered.

"Anyway," Sam said loudly cutting him off, "I think this whole thing is a terrible idea."

"What? Going to school as Danny Phantom?" Tucker asked.

"No!" she exclaimed, "I mean you and Jazz staying with Vlad...while his whole family is there...and your ghost powers are on the fritz and he's having panic attacks! It's a recipe for disaster. How much worse can things get?"

"It's not like we had a choice, Sam," Danny sighed, "For once, this wasn't actually one of Vlad's schemes. There really is a ghost conference out there and we really, **apparently**, needed someone to look after us."

"I don't know about Tuck being bad luck," the goth, "I think you've got all the bad luck in the world to end up in this nightmare."

"Hey! I'm not bad luck!" Tucker yelled, indignantly, but he was more or less ignored.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Danny mumbled.

"I call it like I see 'em," she shrugged happily.

* * *

"No!" Vlad growled, as he paced in large stride in front of the Master of Time.

"Why not?"

"I've told you why!"

"You lied," Clockwork replied, "I **know** you're lying."

"Are you watching me?" Vlad narrowed his eyes, standing still as he glared at the ghost.

"I'm watching everything that happens, Plasmius, you know that," he shrugged, "I see everything, not just you. Does that bother you?"

"As a matter of fact, it does."

"Well, I can't help it anymore than you can help breathing; I am what I am."

"And why have you decided to take such an interest in me all of a sudden? I've been half ghost for twenty years and though I knew of you, I'd never met you before you decided it would be 'best' to invade my privacy."

"I've been watching you since you were born," Clockwork answered, "Because I was aware of a possible future in which you become what you are, it has been my responsibility to watch over you."

"You didn't do a very good job of it," Vlad hissed.

"It was my job to watch, not to protect," the ghost told him, "I was forbidden to interfere."

"But you still showed my past to Daniel! That's the worst kind of interference!" he yelled.

"The moment we became aware of the possibility of the world's first hybrid the Observants wanted to kill you to prevent it from ever happening. It was thought too dangerous to allow such a creature to exist. I vowed to keep an eye on you and so they left you alone...and I have done the same for Danny."

"...Am I supposed to believe this?"

"Believe what you want," the Master of Time said.

"And you kept this to yourself, all this time?"

"Of course."

"Then why change? Why tell me now?"

"You believe me?"

"I don't know," Vlad answered honestly, "The Observants are stupid at the best of times, it sounds like something they'd do, but..."

"I've already told you that there's only so much information I can give you about the future, but I wanted to change yours. I've been watching you for forty years; ghosts aren't completely heartless, you know. It's ironic though, isn't it?" Clockwork gave a sad smile.

"What is?"

"I've been watching you for you own good, you've been watching Danny and neither of you are happy about it. I didn't do this to make your life more difficult than it already is, I did it to make it better."

"I don't need you to do anything for me! I don't need anyone to help me!"

"You'd have been dead long ago if it weren't for me," Clockwork said abruptly.

"In that case, if you're telling the truth, then I suppose I..."

"I can prove it," the ghost raised an eyebrow and raised his staff, taking Vlad into the past as he had taken Danny.

* * *

_The green smoke shifted to form the home of the Observants, the large room was filled with hundreds of the one eyed ghosts. It was an almost Roman set up, with round seats rising up around a centre stage in which four Observants hovered with Clockwork and a smoke like projection of Vlad as a hybrid._

_"This cannot be allowed to happen," one of them said, "The risk is too great."_

_"It may not happen at all," Clockwork said, "There are many futures surrounding these events."_

_"And many of them result in one person becoming half ghost," another Observant said, "Humans are not meant to have so much power."_

_"And we are not meant to pass judgment on humans," Clockwork said, "We have no jurisdiction over them or him."_

_"He will become half ghost, that gives us the authority," someone replied haughtily and this set off a flurry of conversation around the room which echoed loudly for several minutes._

_"It is decided," one of them said, raising a staff of his own, silencing the others, "The boy, Vladimir Masters will die before this is allowed to happen..."_

_"The boy is not of our world yet," the Time Master began, "The fact that one day he could be, is irrelevant; he is still human. I propose that I take guardianship of him, I will see if he can be trusted with such power."_

_"And if he can't?"_

_"Then...he is yours," he sighed._

_"Your will softens when it comes to humans, how do we know that this will be taken seriously?"_

_"He cannot be allowed to make contact with the child!" someone shouted out._

_"Agreed," the larger Observant nodded._

_"As you wish," Clockwork bowed his head, "I will watch from afar and you will leave him be."_

_A wave of shouts and murmurs swept through the room and after a moment, the larger Observant raised his staff again for silence before he spoke._

_"This council reluctantly agrees, Clockwork, Master of Time, the boy is yours; the future of Vladimir Plasmius, is your responsibility," he said heavily before everything faded away._

* * *

"...Why would you do that for me? You didn't even know me then," Vlad breathed, too stunned to speak for a while.

"I don't believe in killing innocent children," Clockwork smiled, "Regardless of what they might grow up to be. There'd be no humans left if the Observants got their way, and few ghosts as well, I imagine."

Vlad turned away, unable to form a coherent sentence at the whole notion that the Master of Time had saved his life from the Observants. However, Clockwork had also allowed him to be brutalised by his father when he could have done something to stop it.

"You don't like the fact that I saved your life," the ghost stated, "Anymore than you like the fact that your mother did the same."

"As much as I dislike it, she is my mother, I understand her motives, but yours..." Vlad trailed off, "Do you want something from me now, is that it?"

"No, I want nothing from you," Clockwork said with a kind smile, "And that confuses you even more," he stated.

"You must want something, otherwise you wouldn't be telling me any of this. I'm in your debt now, aren't i? The mere thought of being indebted to..."

"Vlad, I've just told you, I don't want anything, I never planned this just to be owed a favour from you. But maybe now you understand a little more how Danny feels..."

"What is **that** supposed to mean?" Vlad narrowed his eyes at the ghost.

"You ignored him for years, you even fought as enemies yet you made him your heir and you admitted that you didn't do it for personal gain. Don't you think that confuses him as much as this confuses you?"

"This isn't about Daniel..."

"Maybe not, but the situation is the same."

"Has anyone ever mentioned that conversing with you is exhausting?" the hybrid sighed.

"Maybe once or twice," the ghost admitted with a smile.

"Clearly you don't care about that," Vlad hissed at him.

"**Clearly**, you're trying to change the subject...and not very well," Clockwork replied, making Vlad glare at him with his furious red eyes.

"Apologies, I shall endeavour to do better next time," the man growled.

"Go back to your castle, Vlad Plasmius," the Master of Time shook his head, "And think about what you've learned here; keeping secrets from someone you're trying to protect only makes them angry."

"You had twenty years to tell me about the Observants."

"And you have had almost two years to tell Danny that you've been trying to train him, not kill him," the ghost shot back.

"That's not the same thing and you know it!"

"Perhaps not," Clockwork relented, "But I am curious...how do you think Danny would react if he knew about your secret cloning plans?"

Vlad's eyes widened in shock before his anger set in at being so closely spied on by the Master of Time. "You won't tell him because you know what you're doing is wrong and you fear his reaction...as I feared yours. Regardless of the fact that I was forbidden to tell you, I wanted to, but you had enough to worry about without adding the Observants."

"My actions are my own, I fear nothing!" Vlad hissed.

"No? In that case, I feel sorry for you," Clockwork said before he vanished again.

* * *

Rosalyn Masters was alone, hardly an unusual occurrence in a castle of this size despite the number of people in it, as she listened to her husbands' angry voice over the phone, berating her and demanding to know why she hadn't yet returned

"I'm not coming back, Vladislav," she said for what felt like the tenth time.

"And why is this?"

"I've missed enough of ours son's life, I don't want to miss as much of my great-niece's," Rosalyn told him.

"The girl," he scoffed.

"Viktoria," she corrected him sternly, "She's a good girl and she needs some stability in her life."

"...Then I will come and visit, I have not yet been introduced to..."

"No!"

"You cannot stop me, she is my blood relation, not yours, foolish woman, and besides, I have not seen my son for a while now..."

"You can't," she emphasised, "Haven't you punished Vlad enough for one lifetime?"

"Obviously not," he muttered.

"He knows you tried to sabotage him," Rosalyn said, "You've done enough damage..."

"Sabotage, no," Vladislav chuckled, "Why would I sabotage my own son's business."

"Well, you didn't," she couldn't help but smile, "He succeeded despite your...assistance."

"Good, it was never any fun when he gave up. You cannot stop me from visiting my own family," he stated.

"No...but I can ask you not to. I gave you the best years of my life to protect my son, does that mean nothing to you?"

"You are not here now, are you, and even if you were I would still do this."

"Why? Why can't you just leave them alone?!" she demanded but evidently her husband had made up his mind because he'd hung up, all she could hear was a long continuous dial tone.

* * *

"He can't come here!" Alexei frowned after Rosalyn had finished speaking sometime later.

"He is," she sighed, rubbing her upper arms nervously, "All because I stayed here..."

"You said yourself, even if you had gone back, he'd still come. You've done enough, you don't have to keep being his prisoner," he replied.

"It's all such a mess," she gave a rueful scoff, "How did things get so bad?"

"Have you told him...Vlad, I mean?"

"How can I? He's already trying not to think about any of it, if I tell him this it'll..."

"You have to tell him before Vladislav gets here, wouldn't that be the worst way to find out?" Alexei asked her sadly.

"He doesn't need this now," Rosalyn breathed.

"That is probably why he's doing it," the man muttered, "You know what he is like, you better than anyone."

"Obviously not...this is all my fault!" she wept, all but collapsing into an armchair.

"You can't control everything," Alexei said, kneeling down in front of her, "Vlad is not a child anymore, surely it's time you let him deal with this himself now."

"But he's **my** child, I'm supposed to protect him."

"And you have," he told her, squeezing her slightly shaking hand.

"Not by myself," she replied, "If it wasn't for you and Ksenyia, I..." *1

"You are family, you both are," he stopped her, "I wish we could have done more..."

"You did enough."

"So did you," Alexei said, "But now you have to tell him."

"...I know..." she sighed heavily.

"Or I can," he offered.

"No, no...I'll do it."

* * *

At the same time, Vlad returned from the Ghost Zone feeling drained and annoyed as he stepped into his lab, locking the portal behind him as he morphed back into his human half.

"Sir, would you like me to update the ghost files on Clockwork and the Observants with the information you received?" ANII asked automatically. Vlad had long since fitted his ghost suit with microscopic recording equipment which sent data instantaneously to his lab which, ANII now kept track of.

"Yes, yes," he waved a dismissed hand.

"Would you like information on Danny Fenton's ecto signature?"

"What I'd like is time away from all this," Vlad muttered.

"Sir?"

"Yes, give me the information," he sighed.

"It has remained at a low rate since you left but it is gradually returning to its normal level. I estimate that it will take ten hours before he has full use of his powers again."

"At least that gives me ten hours of peace and quiet," he scrubbed a hand through his hair before he walked out of the lab up to his study where he knew that a small mountain of paperwork awaited him.

* * *

Hours later, Danny would admit to feeling a little reluctant as he sat at the dinner table, staring down at his plate of freshly caught pheasant and vegetables. He couldn't describe it and as a carnivore, he knew it was more than a little ridiculous about feeling guilty for eating a pheasant that he could have seen running around outside, but he couldn't shake the feeling. He knew that Sam especially would be love the chance to lord her ultra-recyclo vegetarian ways over him now. Although, all his reluctance disappeared once he'd begun to eat the meat and he'd never admit to it.

Once he was finished and all thoughts off food were gone from his mind, Danny could tell that there was something very wrong with Vlad's mother and Uncle, both were silent and the atmosphere was tense.

"Is something wrong?" Vlad asked Rosalyn suddenly.

"No," she answered slowly, "Nothing," she said.

"Actually, there is something that..." Alexei began but stopped when Rosalyn glared at him.

"Alright, what's wrong with you both?" Vlad demanded, setting down his cutlery, "You've been acting strange for hours," he stated. He too had noticed the tense and sombre moods of both Rosalyn and Alexei even before they'd say down for dinner, but he hadn't thought it to be anything serious, nor was it his place to ask, until they started making him feel uncomfortable.

"It's nothing," Rosalyn reiterated and she was pinned with the same look that she herself had just given to Alexei, "Don't give me that look, I taught you that look," she told her son petulantly.

"I'm not giving you any look," Vlad shrugged, "I'm just asking you what..."

"Your father called her," Alexei rolled his eyes at their childishness.

"...What?" Vlad asked slowly, his posture suddenly as tense as his mother's.

"I'm sorry...I tried to stop him but he..."

"What happened?" the older hybrid demanded again, carefully.

"He's...coming here..." Rosalyn answered.

"When?" Vlad asked, trying not to loose his temper.

"I don't know," she shook her head, "He didn't say and I didn't have a chance to ask before he..."

"Did he say why?"

"Who knows?" she gave a sad scoff.

"Who is coming?" Viktoria asked her mother, who now looked equally distraught as she watched Vlad closely.

"Shhh," Valya quietly calmed her daughter.

"Maybe we should..." Danny began whispering to his sister but stopped when Vlad stood up.

"...Excuse me..." the man muttered rather pitifully.

"Vlad...Vlad, where are you going?" Rosalyn asked quickly, following her son with her eyes as he moved across the room.

"Outside," he muttered.

"Why?"

"Air...I need air," he replied, leaving the door open behind him as though in a daze.

"...All things considered, I think that went quite well," Alexei said to Rosalyn a minute later.

* * *

"Well that was awkward," Jazz said to her brother once they were alone. They'd walked out of the castle and into the vast gardens and were aimlessly meandering around a large stone encircled waterfeature which was at least double their height and spirted the water even higher.

"No kidding," he muttered.

"Where do you think he went?"

"...To blast things in the Ghost Zone," Danny said with a shrug, "What? It works when I'm annoyed."

"I didn't think all this could get any worse," she sighed, sitting down on the stone rim of the water feature.

"Yeah, Vlad does have the worst luck this side of the Zone," Danny agreed.

"I can't imagine what'll happen if Vlad's dad does actually come...there's just some people who shouldn't be left in the same place together."

"I don't think anyone wants to be in the same place as that jerk," her brother muttered, "Heck, even I don't."

"That's true, but what I mean was, Vlad already had one panic attack in just thinking about it all. What'd you think'll happen if he comes face to face with his father?"

"I'd...rather not think about it," Danny admitted, "But...whatever he does it's not like the guy won't have earned it; he beat his own kid, for crying out loud!"

"You think Vlad'll attack him?"

"...Maybe...wouldn't you?"

"I don't know," she said.

* * *

Danny would have been surprised to learn that he was very much correct; Vlad was indeed in the Ghost Zone and he was 'blasting' things, more specifically, he was destroying Skulker's traps and attack droids across his floating island.

"He's destroying everything!" Skulker bemoaned.

"You wanna go out there and stop him?" Ember scoffed, "You'll get your little green head blown off!" *2

"Hey!" his glared at her.

"Anyway, it's not like he won't pay you back double for every one of those dumb things he breaks," she rolled her eyes.

"I've spent years working on those 'dumb things'...and they're not dumb!"

"Sure they're not."

"...Haven't seen him this angry since we found out who the ghost boy was," the hunter ghost muttered to himself.

"He's not so tough," Ember replied with her typical bravado, "Y'know what? Im'a go talk to him," she smirked before flying off.

"No, bad idea! Ember...Ember, come back here!" Skulker yelled, flying off after her.

Ember simply followed the sounds of crashing and crackling energy to find the hybrid standing over a pile of burned and broken pieces of metal all scattered at his feet as he breathed heavily.

"So, bad day, Plasmius?" she asked him smugly.

Vlad spun around quickly and sent a glowing pink blast straight at her and she barley had enough time to turn herself intangible to avoid it. "Hey, watch where you're shooting!" she yelled indignantly.

"Plasmius...you know I respect you...I know you have a temper...but for the love of the Ghost Zone, stop destroying my home!" Skulker yelled as he caught up with them.

"What about me, dumb ass?! He could have vaporised me!" Ember frowned.

"Err...right, and leave her alone, too," he added.

"Oh, I feel so much safer now," she glared at him.

"Go away," Vlad hissed at them.

"What?!" Skulker scowled, "What's wrong with you? It's not the boy again, is it? I swear, your life would be so much easier if you'd simply leave him be and..."

"Enough!" the hybrid yelled, his fists igniting in a blood red energy.

"Okay, okay...just...just calm down," the hunter blinked at him.

"Calm down?!" he repeated incredulously, "Calm down?!"

"Yeah, y'know...chill out, relax, take a load off...ringing any bells?" Ember asked and Vlad growled at her. "Guess not..." she muttered.

"...Plasmius...Vlad...you wanna talk?" Skulker ventured to ask as he took slow steps towards him.

"No, no I don't," Vlad shook his head, "Send me the bill," he said before he took off.

* * *

*1 Ksenyia is Alexei's wife; Vlad's aunt, and Vladislav's sister. She's mentioned in chapter four in 'What Happens in the Past.'

*2 Skulker mentions that Ember is his girlfriend in 'Girl's Night Out' which is the third episode of the third series, so they had to have been together for some time before that, hence why I included her here.

* * *

A.N. I've noticed that in a few of my stories, I tend to make the Observants kind of the bad guys, but hey, it works. Well, I think it does anyway.


	17. Calm Before the Storm

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 17: Calm Before the Storm**

* * *

Despite the irrefutable fact that he was actually very tired and that it was the middle of the night, Vlad couldn't sleep; he was too busy worrying about what his father would do, what would happen to his mother, and about what Clockwork would do next. Everything seemed so out of his control that it made him nervous. He'd survived by himself and succeeded in his work by always being the one in control but now he felt like a child again because he had no control over anything.

Destroying Skulker's traps had only served to make him angrier than he already had been but it had helped him as a form of stress release for his powers if nothing else; it was important not to bottle up his anger in the form of his ghost powers. There tended to be hell to pay if he did in the form of uncontrollable storms and ecto-plasmic raging fires which couldn't be put out with water.

In an attempt to steady his nerves he'd already worked his way through half a bottle of whiskey, unfortunately to little avail; his metabolism as well as his liver functions had been boosted over time by his ghost powers, making it all but impossible for him to be drunk anymore. It didn't help his nerves that his enhanced hearing made it difficult to have any peace and quiet, especially when he could hear Danny and Jazz in the living room watching the television as they had been for well over an hour.

So, he took up his half empty glass and walked, in total darkness - for he didn't need light to see - from the library, tossing aside the books he'd been trying to read, and headed for the living room.

He walked through the walls and the door to the living room and stood behind them both, but of course they didn't know that he was there, so he coughed lightly and smiled a little when they both screamed in shock. Danny spun around, fumbling with a torch and shone its bright light directly at Vlad, temporarily blinding him.

"Daniel," Vlad hissed, "Stop that!" he ordered squinting against the bright light.

"Geez!" Danny exhaled, clicking off the torch, "Vlad...it's just you...Why didn't you put a light on or something?"

"Why should I?" the man shrugged, "I can see perfectly well in the dark."

"...Really?" the young hybrid asked incredulously.

"Why do you have a torch?" Vlad asked rather than answering Danny's question.

"Erm...it's tradition," the boy shrugged simply, "Horror movie night tradition," he smiled.

Danny had to admit that the sight of Vlad dressed in, well, more or less his pyjamas, was something of a shock, though, the older hybrids' idea of sleepwear was clearly somewhat different to the general population. He was wearing black, silk like pyjama bottoms and he walked bare foot across the room, and his dressing gown was as elaborate and ostentatious as his personality. It was blood red and looked to be made of a strange cross between shiny silk and soft velvet with gold embroidered stitching at the end of the sleeves and down each side. It trailed along the floor behind him, gracefully billowing out as he moved and he clutched it closed over his bare chest. *1

"Zombies?" Vlad questioned after a moment of staring at the screen.

"'Attack of the Killer Zombies'," Danny clarified and Vlad turned around to raise an eyebrow at him, "It's horror movie night!" he repeated, "You gotta have zombies!" *2

"Hmmm," the man hummed as he moved to stand before the fireplace. He held out a hand and lit a fire in the grate with a small blast of ecto energy, it started off as a purple flame, but as it took to the wood, it turned into a gentle yellow and orange. He then sat in one of the chairs across from them, his red robe gathering on either side of his crossed legs.

"...We didn't wake you up, did we?" Jazz asked.

"No," Vlad breathed, "...I wasn't sleeping," he added, staring down into the glass as he tilted it in his hand.

"What were you doing then?" Danny asked.

"Reading," he said quickly.

"It's like one in the morning," the young hybrid blinked.

Yes," the man shrugged, "But need I reminded you, that you're the ones watching horror movies at the same time."

"That's when you're supposed to watch creepy movies," he explained as though it were obvious. "Didn't you ever sneak out of your room in the middle of the night to watch horror films when you were a kid just so's you could get the bejeebers scared outta you?"

"I didn't need to go looking for reasons to be scared when I was a child," Vlad replied haughtily.

"...Oh, right...sorry..." Danny muttered, nervously, grimacing across at his sister.

"Not that **that** ever stopped me," the older hybrid muttered to himself after a moment.

"Huh?" the boy furrowed his brow at him.

"For a while, my personal favourite was 'Secrets of the Damned'," Vlad admitted. *3

"That's a classic! I love that film!" Danny exclaimed before he could think to stop himself, "It gave me serious nightmares, I was like ten the first time I saw it!"

"Yeah, and I got the blame when we crept downstairs to watch it," Jazz frowned.

"You loved it too," he muttered back.

"Sure, I did," she rolled her eyes, "I 'loved' it so much I decided to never watch it again."

"You haven't watched it since we were kids?!" Danny exclaimed, "Oh, man, then we have to watch it now."

"I don't think we do," his sister replied quickly.

"Oh, come on, it'll be fun," he insisted, "Besides, you picked the stupid zombie film."

"Only because you made me choose between that and something about killer bugs."

"She hates bugs," Danny muttered to Vlad.

"Urgh," Jazz sighed, "Just put the stupid movie on," she said and Danny laughed but he made no move to change the film.

Vlad leaned back in his chair, finishing off the whiskey as he listened to the two siblings' easy banter, remembering that he and Valya had once been that close, now he wasn't sure what they were. He hadn't spoken to her much at all since she'd arrived and she didn't seem to be in a hurry to do so either but listening to Danny and Jazz's witty remarks severed to remind him of when things had been a little less complicated. With a heavy sigh, he placed the glass onto the floor and leant back again, resting his head back, eyes closed when he realised a moment later that all was silent.

He furrowed his brow and looked across at them to see that both siblings were now staring at him in shock. "What?" Vlad asked them but they only shared a brief glance at each other before turning back to stare at him wordlessly again. "What?" he demanded.

It took a momentary glance of Danny's eyes which flicked from the older hybrid's eyes to his stomach for him to realise what was wrong. As he'd leant back, not only had the fire light illuminated his features but his red robe had shifted to reveal the pale, bare skin of his torso and the patchwork of scars he carried with him.

Most were smaller, healed scars from swords and old bruises but they served as constant reminders even though he'd covered many of them on his chest and upper arms with tattoos in his youth. One that he hadn't been able to conceal or heal though was a jagged burn mark that ran the width of his torso and continued onto his back. Even after so long it was still angry and red and no matter what he tried, he hadn't been able to heal it and no tattoo artist he'd seen would consent to cover such a large burn scar, so it remained.

"How did that happen?" Jazz asked, fearing the answer, "That...burn?"

"It doesn't matter," Vlad said quickly, dragging one end of his red robe over the scar.

"He didn't do it didn't he..." Danny trailed off, but Vlad glared at him with he took to mean that he was correct in his assumption, "Man...that's just...screwed up. How bad was it if it's still there...I mean, you heal pretty fast, right?"

"I do now," he replied, clearly not intending to elaborate.

"So...erm...why the tattoos?" the young hybrid asked, changing the subject.

"They covered the smaller scars," Vlad shrugged, "I was young," he said. He could still remember that childish but of pride he'd felt in covering up each scar; scars, his father used to say, remind you of important lessons in life which was why he'd given his son so many, according to Vladislav, Vlad just knew that his father was a cruel man who didn't care. It had been an attempt to not only rid the man from his life, but to also have some small victory over him when he'd had nothing.

"Huh, y'know, I wanted to get one...still kinda do...but mom said no," Danny sulked.

"Why do you want a tattoo?" Jazz asked him.

"Hmmm," he shrugged, "Just do."

"Speaking of moms...yours was looking for you...after you left," Jazz told Vlad.

"She wouldn't have found me," Vlad said.

"Where'd you go?" Danny asked, "Ghost Zone, right?"

"Yes," he said, "I went to Skulker's Island."

"Skulker's place? Isn't it filled with booby traps and guns and stuff?"

"...Not anymore."

"You trashed it?" Danny blinked.

"Something tells me he won't let me off easily when he brings me the bill...Ember especially," Vlad breathed.

"Erm, okay, now I know I missed something...Ember?"

"She was there with Skulker," Vlad explained.

"Why the heck was she at Skulker's Island?"

"Because they're...together," the man said.

"Together...as in together, together?" Danny choked.

"Is there any other kind of interpretation?"

"But...but...I...what?!" the young hybrid stammered, "But they're ghosts...and he's a...a green frog...thing in a metal suit!"

"Nevertheless," Vlad shrugged calmly, "They are; don't ask me how or why, Skulker didn't say and I didn't ask. He was very smug at the start, though."

"Huh...well...it's better than Box Lunch, I guess," he muttered to his sister but Vlad didn't understand the reference so he simply raised an eyebrow.

"No, kidding," Jazz mumbled back.

For a while, nothing else was said as they stared mindlessly at the film on screen, watching as the Zombies were overrun finally by the remaining townspeople and were hacked to death with machetes and bats and all manner of makeshift weapons.

"Perhaps it would be best if you both went home," Vlad spoke suddenly after at least fifteen minutes.

"What? Why?" Danny frowned. Though he was reluctant to admit it, he didn't actually want to leave, granted the moments when Vlad shouted and attacked him weren't worth staying for, but these conversations that they managed to have were. He enjoyed talking to Vlad; he was smart and he had a funny sense of humour when he wasn't angry.

"Because my father is very likely on his way here now..."

"You're saying...it's not safe?" Jazz questioned, "I think we've already established that, I mean, with Danny's new power and your...I..."

"Jazz," Danny hissed, nudging her in the stomach to get her to stop, but it was already too late, Vlad knew what she'd meant to say.

"Any environment with my father in it isn't a 'safe' one for anyone," Vlad said, choosing to ignore Jazz's 'almost' mention of his panic attack. "But you children especially," he added.

"Why us especially?" Danny asked.

"Well, you **and** Viktoria. I suppose it's my fault, really; anything I seem to display an interest in he simply has to take away from me."

"You say that like its normal behaviour," Jazz frowned.

"It is, for him. There's nothing he can do to me that he hasn't done already, so I don't care anymore, but even I have my limits...And you said it yourself; if you go through the Ghost Zone you could be back in Amity Park in a matter of minutes," Vlad said.

"Might take me longer than that...I still get lost sometimes," Danny mumbled.

"It would still be a safer place than here," the man scoffed.

"You know that most of the ghosts in there wanna hunt me down, right? They kinda have an attack on sight policy."

"So does he."

"And you know I can protect myself...mostly," Danny added.

"As a ghost you can when you choose to," Vlad said, "As a human...no, no you can't, or rather you won't, your school bullies are proof of that."

"But that's..."

"My father, however much of sadist he is, is still human, you wouldn't raise a hand against him no matter what, we both know that."

"...He's got a point," Jazz said to her brother.

"Oh, great, now you think I'm a wimp, too."

"I didn't say that," she shook her head quickly, "I just know that you'd never attack a person..."

"That's not a weakness you can afford around him," Vlad stated.

"Don't you think you're overreacting?" Danny said, "I mean, he's like 90 years old or something, there's no way he can..."

"You don't expect him to come alone, do you?"

"What?"

"I told you that he has security guards, what makes you think that he wouldn't have body guards, too?" Vlad asked him.

"Seriously?" Danny blinked.

"Last time I checked there were some of the best knife fighters and boxers in Russia working for him."

"Oh...crumbs..." the young hybrid deflated.

"I expect he'll bring more than one, after all I did take his pocket watch and his attempt at sabotage failed so I don't suppose he's very happy with me at the moment," Vlad said to himself more than to them. "And if there's anyone who knows how to hold a grudge, it's him," he added.

"You think he'll have them attack you?" Jazz asked incredulously.

"If he could, I don't doubt that he'd do it himself," Vlad shrugged nonchalantly.

"So...you do think something'll happen?" Danny pressed.

"Oh, yes," he said, "Which is why I'd rather be able to deal with it without having to worry about you children."

"I fought the Ghost King, Vlad," the young hybrid said, "I think I can take care of myself," he finished. It was strange having his arch enemy, or rather his ex arch enemy, showing concern for him like this and he didn't exactly know what else to say at this point.

"As you wish," Vlad sighed.

* * *

To say that Vlad was tense that next morning would be a bit of an understatement, he knew that his father wouldn't want to waste any time in arriving to make his life miserable, but at the same time it was the waiting which was even worse. He couldn't stand to remain in the castle, he felt cooped up enough as it was so, he was sitting out in the gardens before a large lake surrounded by open grassland and wild flowers. There was a cool, light breeze and it helped a little to calm him down, not that he'd ever let his cousin see his fraying nerves.

Valya was perhaps even more on edge than Vlad and she was pacing furiously as her cousin watched.

"Valya, will you kindly do me a favour, please?" Vlad asked her calmly.

"What?" she stopped and turned to look at him.

"Stop pacing," he emphasised, "It's really quite annoying," he said.

"Oh, am I annoying you, cousin?" Valya shook her head incredulously and he sighed heavily at her sarcastic tone. "I can't believe you're being so calm about this whole thing!"

"What makes you think I'm calm?" he scoffed.

"I'm going insane just thinking about having that...that man here in the same place as my child and you're just sitting there, you don't even look..."

"You had plenty of time to leave," Vlad interrupted her, "You could have gone last night, you could go now, there's really nothing stopping you."

"I won't leave you here alone with him."

"What about Viktoria?" Vlad raised an eyebrow, "Don't you think it would be better for her if you left? She'd be better off without having him in her life at all."

"I will tell her to stay in her room," she said, "My father and I will not leave her alone as long as Vladislav is here."

"I don't want him here at all, I don't even want him in the same state," he stated, "I can't stop him him travelling here but I can stop him from staying here; this is my home, not his."

"What if he refuses to leave?"

"Let him try," Vlad narrowed his eyes

* * *

Danny stared at the practice target in Vlad's lab and exhaled as he let loose a burst of glowing ice which froze not only the target but the wall and floor around it, much to his annoyance.

"I'm never gonna get this right," he sighed, falling to the floor.

"Is this really the best time for target practise?" Jazz asked him.

"It's not like I have a choice," her brother replied, "Remember what Vlad said? If I don't get used to this stupid power then I'm gonna end up fainting every day!"

"I don't think he said it like that exactly."

"Close enough," he shrugged, "Anyway, I'm trying not to think about...y'know..."

"Yeah," Jazz breathed, "I don't wanna think about it either."

"What'd you think'll happen?"

"I don't know," she sighed, "I hope he won't do anything stupid, but..."

"Who, Vlad or his dad?"

"Both, I guess."

"Not like his dad wouldn't deserve it," Danny muttered.

"Vlad said he'd have body guards," Jazz reminded him.

"Like that means anything to him, he could beat a whole army with one hand behind his back," the young hybrid scoffed.

"I know that," she said.

"Then stop worrying," he replied.

"I'm not worried. Why would I be worried about Vlad?" Jazz furrowed her brow. "I mean, all he's ever done is make your life difficult and he's tried to take mom away and kill dad and..." she trailed off.

"...I get it...I'm worried too..." he admitted, "...Huh, never thought I'd say that...ever...it's kinda weird."

"Yeah, no joke," she smiled at him, briefly.

* * *

"I don't know why you're still here," Rosalyn sighed, glancing over at Alexei who sat with her in the living room. "You should take Valya and Viktoria and get as far away as you can. You're not obligated to stay, Alexei."

"Of course I am, we are family and Vladislav does not frighten me," he replied.

"He'll frighten Vikki," she said, "And he'll enjoy it, too. Just because he can't fight anymore doesn't mean he isn't still the same person."

"I won't let him hurt her or you. I tried to help your son and I failed but I won't fail my granddaughter."

"Things were very different when Vlad was young, you did what you could...we all did."

"And still he has to make his son miserable," the man scoffed, "Will it never be enough?"

"He never intended for Vlad to be defiant, I don't think he likes how things turned out. In the end just how much influence did he have if our son was able to succeed on his own? He wanted Vlad to be dependant on him but he never was."

"That is who he is," Alexei stated, "He is as defiant as you."

"And that damned us both," she admitted. "It's why he fell in love with me in the first place and it's why he hates me now. He didn't want a wife and son, he wanted slaves."

"Then he chose the wrong wife," he laughed, "You never were his slave, neither was Vlad."

* * *

Danny let out another frustrated sigh as his ice powers did the exact opposite of what he'd intended again.

"Maybe you should give it a rest now, Danny," Jazz said, "Vlad only said you needed to use this power a little bit, not tire yourself out again."

"Yeah, I know," he sighed, "It's just really annoying."

"You'll get it, you just need practice...and patience."

"Huh, right," he muttered, "At least all the stuff in here doesn't get damaged by water," he added, seeing the melting piles of ice.

"You are correct," ANII spoke up, "This equipment is water resistant as well as being able to withstand high temperates, it is extremely durable."

"That doesn't sound like this was all store bought, then...probably cost a fortune," Danny remarked.

"Most of it was designed and built by Mr. Masters."

"Nerd," the young hybrid couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Impressive," Jazz corrected him.

"Doesn't make it any less nerdy," he insisted, childishly.

"I bet you wouldn't say that to his face," she grinned back at him.

"Y'think so, huh?"

"Mmmm hmmm," Jazz nodded, crossing her arms.

"...I guess I probably shouldn't...I mean, things are messed up enough without making it worse...And it's not like he doesn't already know I think he's a dork," he replied.

"Among other things," she laughed.

"...Hey...when d'you think...he's...gonna get here?" Danny asked her after a moment, his smile fading.

"I don't know, tonight maybe...tomorrow morning," Jazz shrugged, "Something tells me he wouldn't wanna waste any time to make Vlad angry."

"Yeah...think we should tell mom and dad?"

"What for?" she frowned, "They can't do anything and neither can we. What would we say anyway? That we know Vlad was abused even though they don't because Clockwork told us...I don't think that's a good idea. Besides, they're probably enjoying their conference thing, there's no point them worrying about this, too."

"...I know..." Danny breathed, "You're right...he never wanted **us** to know everything and he hates dad enough already ...he'd hate him even more if we told 'em."

* * *

*1 I imagine Vlad's dressing gown to be more of an archaic house coat or robe, specifically like the one that the Count wears in 'Count of Monte Cristo' (2002), it's about an hour and a half into the film I think. And if you haven't watched it, go and do it now it, 'cos it's amazing!

*2 &amp; *3 I have no idea if there is actually a film called 'Attack of the Killer Zombies' or 'Secrets of the Damned' I just made them up on the spot and I guess they stuck. If there are actual films by the same name, it's just a coincidence and there's no copyright intended.


	18. Eye of the Storm

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 18: Eye of the Storm**

* * *

**_Bold Italics_**_-_Russian

* * *

The staff on duty in Vlad castle had long since noticed the tense atmosphere and they cleverly chose to stay out of his way for the day and as the hours wore on, the weather outside seemed to get worse as well. It had started off as a light dusting of clouds which had evolved into complete grey cover over the sky with incessant rainfall and the occasional clap of thunder or a blinding flash of lightning, all lf which had seemed to come without warning, out of nowhere.

Danny had only had the nerve to point it out to Vlad once because he knew that the older hybrids' electrical abilities must have been causing the storm since it was unlikely that such a storm would appear so quickly and it was clear that the man was more wound up than a tightly coiled spring. But it had done nothing other than make Vlad more irritated than he already was so Danny hadn't bothered to bring it up twice, instead, he, his sister and Viktoria decided it was best to hide in his room playing his new video games.

* * *

Some time later when the castle was devoid of its daily workers, Vlad was sitting with his mother, uncle and cousin in the living room and they all looked up when they heard it. A loud, repetitive knock on the door.

"Don't answer it," he muttered to his mother when she reluctantly stood up.

"You really think he'll leave if we ignore him?" she asked, shaking her head.

"First time for everything," Vlad replied with a shrug.

"He's more likely to have the door taken off its hinges first," she replied, leaving the room.

"This is a bad idea," Valya couldn't help but mutter and Vlad stared at her.

"Every idea of his is bad," he told her and she frowned, unable to disagree.

Vlad did his best to conceal a shaky, nervous sigh as he pushed himself up and slowly followed his mother's path towards the front door, hearing his cousin and uncle do the same. He hated to admit it, but every time he saw his father his heart beat sped up and he always wanted to run for the hills, putting as much distance as he could between himself and the old man that had been the subject of so many childhood nightmares.

"You don't look very happy to see me," Vladislav said to his son. He was stood regally with both hands clasped on the top of his silver tipped cane and he wore a similar suit to Vlad's which, added to his facial features and white hair served to enhance their familial connection.

Behind the old man stood two men, both at least a few years younger than Vlad himself and both clearly armed with one visible gun each. They, like Vladislav, emitted a 'no nonsense' aura with stern expressions, muscled arms barely concealed under their white dress shirts.

"Oh, I'm ecstatic," his son rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as he sensed those same two men watching him carefully, "Really, I am. Now please, whatever it is you're here for, get it over with quickly so that you and your...friends...can leave."

"What makes you think I intend to leave when you are all here?" the man questioned.

"Because you're not staying here," Vlad answered, "If I had my way you wouldn't even be standing inside my foyer."

"That is a shame, after all, I am here to meet my granddaughter...and I have it on good authority that your god children are here as well."

"And whose authority would that be?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, my son," Vladislav smiled.

"You're spying on me?! Me?! That's impossible!" Vlad exclaimed.

"You have a lot of people who work for you and everyone has their price," he shrugged, "Given enough money people will sell their souls never mind simple information."

"How dare you..." the hybrid began, his anger threatening to worsen the storm outside no matter how much he tried to repress it.

"Don't act so surprised," his father chuckled, "You're no more a saint than I am."

"But you can't possibly..."

"Oh, I can," Vladislav smiled at him, "And I have, I know more about you than you'd think."

The idea of being watched by his father didn't settle too well with him and what was worse was that it made him feel like a child with no control over anything in his life.

"I've heard enough," he breathed, "You can go now."

"I'm not going anywhere," Vladislav replied.

"Get out!" Vlad yelled at the man, his voice echoing and of course it wasn't long before his father began to shout back. It never took very long when the two were in the same room together for tempers to flare and for voices to raise.

* * *

Having heard the noise even on the next floor, Danny, Jazz and Viktoria now stood at the top of the stairs watching Vladislav Masters shout at his son on furious Russian and, slowly, they descended and joined Valya at the foot of the stairs.

"What are they saying?" Danny whispered to Vikki.

"...Very bad things...that man is not being very nice," she said, looking across at her grandfather.

"Viktoria, go back upstairs," her mother said as quietly as possible, trying to keep her hidden from Vladislav but it was too late, he'd already seen the three children.

"Why is this happening? Why is that man shouting at..." the girl began to ask, fearfully.

"So...this is Viktoria," Vladislav ceased shouting at his son long enough to switch to a somewhat calm English and Vikki froze as his cruel eyes focused on her.

"Uncle...please..." Valya whispered, wrapping an arm around her daughter's shoulders.

"I don't suppose that your mother ever told you about me," he stopped to sneer at Valya for a moment.

"...No...sir," the young girl replied, wary of him shouting and screaming to Vlad, she had taken a quick dislike to him and was suddenly very scared.

"'Sir'," he repeated, "What a polite girl you are, granddaughter."

"I...yes...sir...m...my name is Viktoria..." Vikki said, feeling her mother's nervous arm tighten around her shoulders as the man nodded, seemingly satisfied.

"And you are the American godchildren, yes?" Vladislav turned to Danny and Jazz, looking at them with something akin to disgust. When both Fenton's failed to reply after they exchanged a fearful glance, the man's left eye twitched as he spoke again, "Well, one of you answer me," he growled before glaring at Danny. "You, boy, you are Daniel Fenton, yes?"

"Yes," Danny ground out. He'd already come to the conclusion that he hated the man in front of him long before actually meeting him face to face and he could understand why Vlad had left home at such a young age. Just being in the same room when Vladislav shouted was enough to drive a person mad, he couldn't imagine listening to that every day as he grew up.

"Yes, what?" Vladislav glared at him.

"Yes, that's my name," the young hybrid said, refusing to call the man 'sir' in a characteristic moment of defiance.

"Insolent boy," the man hissed.

"Vladislav," Rosalyn walked to stand behind him and tried to calm him by placing a hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it away violently.

"You American children are all the same," he sneered, "All insolent and rude."

"I'm rude?" Danny scoffed before he could stop himself.

"Danny," his sister muttered, sounding afraid and he realised that he'd just done something rather stupid without thinking again. He knew he should be afraid, but he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a throbbing vein in Vladislav's temple now and were the man's anger not directed at him, Danny was sure he'd find it almost comical in any other situation.

"And you are just like him," the man snarled before raising a hand which he preceded to ring down towards Danny.

Danny himself, too used to dealing with 'human' bullies with a somewhat, passive attitude, only screwed his eyes shut and waited for the inevitable blow. Vlad on the other hand, had been forced to defend himself against ghosts and humans for most of his life, chose to react quickly. He stepped beside Danny using his ghostly enhanced speed and caught his father's wrist in a vice like grip, strong enough to severely bruise a human, stopping the blow before it touched the boy.

**_"What do you think you're doing?!"_** Vlad growled angrily in Russian at his father.

Danny quickly opened his eyes on hearing the older hybrid speak a foreign language, surprised that he hadn't actually been hit and even more surprised that he saw that it was Vlad who'd protected him.

**_"Why do you care?"_** Vladislav replied in the same language as he snatched his wrist back, away from Vlad's grip.

"Danny," Jazz cried, pulling her brother away from Vladislav at the same time as Valya did. She'd reached her other arm around him and lead both him and his sister a short distance away with Vlad between them and his father.

**_"You think I'd stand back and allow you to abuse my god son right in front of me?"_**

**_"Have you really grown so weak as you think one hit means abuse?"_** the older man scoffed back.

_**"One is more than enough,"**_****Vlad replied quickly.

"I'm fine, Jazz," Danny told his sister, "But I've got no idea what they're saying again."

"I think it's kind of obvious, don't you?" Jazz sighed.

"**_The boy needs to learn manners,_**" Vladislav hissed.

"**_It's not your place to teach him_**."

"**_Neither is it yours; you are not his father...Though he does look a lot like you did..."_**

_**"He's not my son,"**_Vlad snapped.

**_"Then why do you care?"_**

_**"That's none of your business, now get out of my house before I throw you out!"**_****he growled.

**"You cannot make me leave!"**Vladislavscoffed, gesturing with his eyes at the bodyguards who hadn't moved a muscle or even batted an eyelid. **_"I have as much right to be here as anyone, I am part of this family no matter how much you hate that...or me."_**

**_"You can't begin to understand just how much I hate you, but I'm sure I'm not the only one here who does,"_******Vlad told his father.******_"Can't you see when you're not wanted?!"_**

**_"I'll thank you to speak with more respect to your own father,"_** the man replied haughtily.

"It'll be a cold day in hell before that happens, believe me," Vlad said, now in English and he gestured to the door with his eyes.

"I will come back at a more reasonable time," Vladislav spoke after a silent exchange between the two lasted for a brief moment, "Hopefully you will be in a better mood..."

"A better..." Vlad repeated incredulously, but his father ignored him and continued.

"Perhaps I will even join you for breakfast. What time do you normally..."

_"Out!"_the older hybrid bellowed. This time he couldn't disguise the other worldly echo in his voice as the thunder clapped outside and an eerie growl sounded along side his voice.

Valya for one, felt the voice shake her very bones and in that instant, for some reason, she felt more afraid of her cousin than she did of her uncle. She glanced at her aunt and saw only the woman's usual mask of calm serenity and not for the first time, she wondered how Rosalyn was still sane.

"No matter," Vladislav shrugged, "I will find out," he said as one of his bodyguards opened the door for him. "Good night," he finished calmly as though he hadn't just been screaming at the top of his lungs in anger a few minutes ago and he stepped through the door, into the rain with one of his bodyguards putting up an umbrella for him as he walked.

Vlad stormed over to the one bodyguard that remained inside his home and met his stern gaze with one of his own as he came to stand face to face with him, as though daring the man to attack. But he didn't. He turned around silently and walked back towards the car awaiting him.

Without wasting another second, the older hybrid slammed the door closed behind them with such force that it rattled the walls of the castle and preceded to lock it with a shaky, pale hand. After it was done, he leaned forwards and rested his forehead against the sturdy, old wood of the door, momentarily forgetting the presence of the six people behind him as he tried to calm down.

His blood was pounding in his ears and his ghost powers were just below the skin, itching to emerge and destroy whatever was near. Despite his earlier attempt to rid himself of his pent up anger in virtually destroying Skulker's Lair,, he still felt repressed and tense, as he always did when his father was involved. He knew that the storm outside was just the beginning and that it would get worse no matter what he did, but it would be far less detrimental to him if he stopped trying to control his powers and attempting to force them away. Vlad supposed he was long overdue for a good storm; it had been a good few years since he'd last made a decent thunder storm.

"Vlad?" Danny breathed quietly, taking a few steps forward, "You okay?" he asked. He approached with caution and when he was close enough he stepped to Vlad's side, trying to see the man's face and he saw that Vlad's eyes were squeezed tightly shut but that there was a strong red glow peaking through and his skin seemed more pale than usual. It had an almost unusual glow and Danny knew why. "...Hey...Vlad..." he began again.

"Don't," he warned the younger hybrid and Danny froze. After taking a deep breath, Vlad opened his eyes and the red glow faded away, just barely. He turned without even acknowledging that Danny was standing beside him and strode quickly across the room to one of the doors at the far end.

"Where are you going?" Rosalyn asked, but he didn't answer.

"Vlad?!" Danny called after him, and he too was ignored.

* * *

Danny tried valiantly to focus on the board in front of him rather than dwelling on what had happened over an hour earlier but the atmosphere was somewhat tense. Between them, the six of them had searched every room but they'd found neither hide nor hair of the man and eventually, they'd given up.

But Danny wasn't the only one wondering where Vlad had gone or what Vladislav would do in the morning, he knew that Jazz was worried as well and she certainly wasn't focusing on the chess set or the book she was reading. Rosalyn, for some reason, had decided to stay in the same room as the two Fenton's and she'd remained mostly silent, choosing on odd occasions to correct Danny when he made a wrong move.

When the thunder and lightning had worsened they'd been forced to switch off the television and that's when Rosalyn had noticed the elaborate chess set in the corner of the room and she'd offered to teach Danny the rules, providing he didn't already know them. With nothing better to do, he agreed and mostly, it worked as a distraction and he was deep in thought. He couldn't help but feel calm in her presence.

"The storm's getting worse," Rosalyn and Danny hummed back, "Strange that there was no storm forecasted today," she said. "Remember to defend the Queen," she added, warning him against moving a Rook.

"Err...yeah, guess they can't get it right all the time, huh?" he muttered back, moving his had away a from the board, trying to remember all of the rules that she'd run through on the game.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?" the woman asked suddenly and Danny and his sister suddenly were wary.

"...Sure," he answered slowly.

"Earlier...you didn't seem surprised at watching a father shout at his son so forcefully," she said shrewdly.

"...All families have...problems..." Danny muttered.

"Not like that," she shook her head, "Most people would be shocked...appalled, even, like Viktoria is...but neither of you seem to be."

"Oh, we were, I just...our parents are ghost hunters so we're just used to seeing strange things and having to keep calm..." Danny told her.

"Ghost hunters?" Rosalyn raised a a eyebrow. First she learned that somehow her son was a 'ghost' - whatever that meant - who called himself 'Vlad Plasmius' and that there was one living in the castle who called himself 'the Dairy King', but now the parents of Vlad's godson were ghost hunters? Surely it couldn't be a coincidence, the odds were astronomical.

"Yeah, I know, weird, right?" Danny laughed, trying to steer the conversation away from Vlad and his father.

"Who am I to judge?" she shrugged, "But I know how most people would react to something like this...You knew, didn't you?"

"...Knew? Knew what? What are you talking about?" Danny stammered quickly.

"About my husband and his...temper..."

"I really don't know what you're..."

"You're lying, and not very well," Rosalyn sighed and Danny let out a deep breath as looked over at his sister. "Daniel?"

"It's Danny," he corrected her kindly, "...And Vlad says I'm a bad liar, too."

"Does he, indeed?" she gave a sad smile.

"Oh, yeah...guess this means he's right, after all," he sighed heavily.

"Don't blame yourself, you might be a very good liar to other people," the woman replied, moving one of her black pawn to capture one of Danny's white, "I just have a lot of practice, that's all," she said, setting the piece aside calmly. "So, how did you know? Did he tell you?"

"Vlad?" Danny scoffed, "'Course not, he hates that we know anything at all."

"Then how?"

"It's a...really, really, long story," he answered.

"I see," she breathed quietly, sensing that said story would not be forthcoming at all.

* * *

It was a sleepy Danny and a nervous Jazz, who later sat staring out the windows in his room, watching each flash of lightning as it hit.

"You don't think he's out there, do you?" Jazz questioned.

"If he is it's not like he can't protect himself from a stupid storm...he's probably what's causing it anyway," Danny shrugged.

"I know, but...aren't you worried...even a little bit?"

"Okay, okay, fine, y'got me," he threw up his hand in defeat, "But what am I supposed to do? It's not like I can stop a storm...or Vlad. Besides, he said he could make a storm last for days if he wanted to and I...You want me to go out there and look for him, don't you?"

"You've thought about it too," Jazz shot back.

"Yeah, but look at it! Those are like 50 mile an hour winds and I really don't wanna be shocked by ghost lightning again if I can help it."

"Danny," she sighed simply.

"Gah! Fine! Okay, fine, I'm going!" he cried, "You just go to bed where it's nice and warm and totally not being zapped by lightning, while I go outside and get a ghost cold!"

His sister gave him a rueful smile and he let out a breath before he transformed into his ghost half and stared out of the window at the storm. "Let me know if you find him," she said before he vanished through the glass and flew out through the strong winds.

* * *

As Danny had expected, it wasn't easy when he was flying against the strong force of the wind and he felt it easily drain his energy as he made slow progress through the storm. It didn't help his search that he could barely see anything that wasn't five metres in front of him because of the heavy rain and the darkness.

"Vlad?!" he yelled, trying to be heard over the deafening noise of the storm, "Vlad, you out there?!" he screamed again, his throat protesting at the effort. "Vlad, if you're out there, I swear to the Ghost King, if you don't answer me I'm gonna ghostly wail you into next week! And don't think I won't!" he threatened, but he knew that even his strongest attack would hardly touch the older hybrid.

Danny could barely hear his own voice over the wind but he knew that Vlad's hearing was probably far superior to his own, so he had to hope that the man could hear him. Before he could shout again, there were several successive blasts of lightning which seemed to culminate over the forest rather than spreading to the city or the castle, so the young hybrid cautiously headed towards the forest.

He had to admit, being in a forest, in the dark, alone, in the middle of a storm was quite creepy even for someone who fought ghosts on a daily basis. "VLAD!" he screamed as loudly as he could, feeling the beginnings of his ghost wail in the back of his throat because he was shouting with such force.

Unfortunately for him, the large oak tree next to him was suddenly hit by lightning and a large branch creaked eerily as it gave way, crashing to the ground. It would have flattened the hybrid had he not turned himself intangible to avoid it. "You better not've done that on purpose!" he cried, staring down at the huge tree branch on the ground which was probably three times his size, "That could've made a ghost pancake outta me!"

A second bold struck another tree close to him and this time it was set ablaze with flames that burned hotter than Danny had ever felt before. They looked like perfectly normal flames, but there was something off about them and he couldn't explain why.

"Oh, boy," he muttered, jumping back away from the intense heat of the fire. "Okay...okay...concentrate," he muttered, holding out his hands. With a flash of pale blue light, Danny let out a flurry of ice and snow which slowly calmed the fire and eventually put it out completely. But it had been a very strong fire, fuelled with Vlad's ghost energy and it took a lot of power for Danny to stop it.

He fell to the ground, despite his best efforts, breathing heavily and ignoring the fact that he was now covered in mud from the wet forest floor. "Okay, okay, you win!" Danny yelled, "I'm going!" Now that he could barely stay in his ghost form, he decided that it was best to return to the castle but he kept looking back to the forest as he flew, hoping to catch some sign of the older hybrid through the rain. He never did.

After what felt like hours of fighting the storm, Danny flew through the wall to his room, exhausted, and he collapsed onto his bed, he was asleep before his head hit the pillows.

* * *

A.N. Just a point of conversation, I'm not sure how you guys tend to visualise Vlad, but when these weird events happen in my head and I write them down, I don't see black outlined cartoon characters, I see real people, and I always imagine Vlad as being very similar to Lucius Malfoy, at least in his appearance and his pompous manner.


	19. Talking Helps, It Really Does

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 19: Talking Helps, It Really Does**

* * *

The moment that Danny heard his sister's voice that morning, he knew that his luck had run out. He'd been having the most wonderful dream where he didn't have to worry about ghosts or school or even Vlad and his schemes, and she had to choose that moment to wake him up.

"Danny!" Jazz ground out, "Danny, wake up!"

"Nmmm...g'way..." the sleepy hybrid mumbled and pulled the soft covers over his head.

"Come on, Danny," she sighed, "It's getting really old having to wake you up, y'know."

"...So don't," he grumbled back.

"You've already slept through breakfast," Jazz told him.

"...Huh..."

"I tried to wake you up earlier but you were dead to the world...well...y'know what I mean, and you must've come back really late 'cos I stayed up till one in the morning waiting for you till I fell asleep myself."

"...Yeah...sorry bout that," Danny yawned as he sat up, reluctantly against the headboard. "Didn't find him anyway...and I kinda almost got made into a ghost pancake..." he muttered.

"A what?"

"Oh, right...erm...lighting hit a tree and a branch fell off and it kinda almost squashed me...then there was a fire so I put out and..."

"Vlad did that?"

"I guess so, I mean...there **was** something off about the fire...and I know I have bad luck but I find it hard to believe that the tree I was floating right next to just happened to get hit by lightning."

"They were talking about it on the news...the storm," she remarked, "It was pretty bad."

"No joke."

"It's still raining...but I don't know if that's because of Vlad or whether it's just normal rain...he's not not downstairs, y'know," his sister said after a moment.

"...Wha...who isn't?"

"Vlad," she said, "We thought about checking his room...but his mom said not to...said he'd be better off cooling down..."

"Well...maybe she's right," he replied.

"Yeah," Jazz nodded, "Anyway, I saved you some food," she said and he only now noticed the plate of toast she'd placed on the bedside table as she handed it to him.

"...Vlad's dad...did he..." Danny trailed off, remembering Vladislav's parting threat the pervious night, biting into a piece of toast greedily.

"No...I guess that's a good thing, though, right?"

"Yeah...except now I'm worrying about what he's gonna do next...he's worse than Vlad," the boy huffed.

* * *

"I'll be down in a minute," Danny told her once he was washed and dressed, "I just wanna..."

"You wanna find Vlad, right?" she sighed, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure it's one of the worst I've ever had," he shrugged, "But still..." he trailed off.

"...Okay," his sister said heavily, leaving him alone as he headed for Vlad's bedroom.

Danny knocked once and waited before opening the door as quietly as he could even though he couldn't hear a sound from inside. He hadn't exactly had much of a chance to properly look at the room before now, but suffice to say that it was stunning.

Whilst looking as though it was very much part of an antiquated castle, it also appeared slightly modern. One wall was made completely of a grey tinged stone with a large fireplace in the centre while the others were a pale ivory colour. There were two internal doors, one of which lead to a walk in wardrobe and the other to an ensuite bathroom, as Danny knew. At the foot of the four poster bed, as well having thick burgundy and gold drapes hanging down, was a plush red couch over which several books and folders were strewn haphazardly. And in the bed itself, lay a sleeping Vlad Plasmius wearing his black silk bottoms and the covers thrown back to reveal the mottled scars and old tattoos.

Danny was honestly surprised that the older hybrid was still sleeping when his senses were usually so sharp but perhaps it was a trick. Vlad had been making a habit of making him jump lately.

"Vlad...you asleep?" he asked quietly, "Vlad?" he repeating, making sure that the older hybrid really was asleep before he turned to leave.

What he hadn't known what that Vlad was an extremely light sleeper; a habit he'd picked up as a child and never been able to grow out of despite the fact that he knew full well that no one was going to come into his room, drag him from the bed and make him fight with swords until late at night without food or rest. So, Vlad's eyes opened, albeit reluctantly, to see the boy's slowly retreating back.

"Daniel?" Vlad furrowed his brow and ran a hand through his unbound hair, "What is it?"

"...Wha...you're awake!" Danny spun back around to face him, "Were you really asleep?"

"Not anymore, I'm not," he snapped back unhappily, throwing out his hand to the bedside table and retrieving his watch which he examined with a groan of frustration.

"I wish I could wake up that fast," the young hybrid couldn't help but mutter but it was clear that Vlad wasn't impressed. "I...err...what I meant was...look, I'm really, really sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up, we were just wondering where you were and I..."

"Pass me that," Vlad muttered, pointing over at his elaborate red robe, effectively stopping the young hybrid's nervous rambling.

"That?" Danny asked as he picked it up from the chair by the window and walked across to hand it to the older hybrid who spun it around his shoulders "Y'missed breakfast...so did I," he said as Vlad stood from the bed. "And apparently your dad didn't show up, so..."

"So now you're wondering what he's planning," Vlad nodded, "Yes, I'm well acquainted with the feeling," he said, tying the sash of the robe around his stomach.

"By the way, you nearly made a ghost pancake outta me last night with that tree branch," Danny remarked.

"That was an accident. I can't always control exactly where my lightning strikes especially when I've made such a powerful storm."

"So you knew about it?" the boy said, suspiciously.

"Only after hearing you scream from half a mile away," Vlad scoffed.

"Uh-huh," the young hybrid scowled.

"You shouldn't have left the castle at all," the man told him, seriously.

"I was looking for you," Danny replied, not understanding why Vlad had said that.

"You could have gotten yourself killed. At it was, we're extremely lucky that my storm only lasted for one night, the last one was much longer, but I had already used up a considerable amount of energy before that."

"You make a habit of making bad storms when you're angry?"

"I've told you before; we can't repress our anger for too long before it shows in our powers. I can't afford to lose control..."

"I'd say you already did," Danny scoffed, remembering the force of the storm.

"It was a...more or less...controlled storm in a concentrated, uninhabited area, believe me, it could have been far worse."

"Worse how?"

"Why do you think I live with miles of unused land between myself and civilisation?" Vlad raised an eyebrow at him.

"...So you don't just live in a castle 'cos you like to show off?" Danny dared to smile and Vlad couldn't repress a brief, rueful chuckle. "It was on the news, y'know...the storm," he said, "Jazz told me."

"Indeed?"

"Oh, yeah," the boy nodded, "Guess stuff like that does your ghost reputation good, huh?" he asked with a smile, leaning back against the arm of the chair he'd picked up Vlad's dressing gown from.

"I suppose it would if all ghosts were avid news watchers and they knew to look for the differences between a paranormal storm or a normal one," Vlad shrugged.

"Vlad..." Danny began, suddenly nervous, "Seriously...are you...are you okay?"

The older hybrid turned to stare at Danny, whose nervousness now was more palpable than it had been a moment ago. The boy was clearly afraid of how he would react to such a question, and Vlad supposed that, given their history, it wasn't an unjustified reaction. What was strange was that he was asking at all.

"What?" Vlad managed to question, furrowing his brow. He couldn't remember that last time he'd been asked that.

"I mean...I probably shouldn't say anything but...it's been a really, really weird week and all...and then you had a panic...err, I mean a...a y'know...then your dad and everything, I just..." Danny stammered.

"Why do you care?" the man asked him, genuinely intrigued.

"Why do I..."

"Yes, why do you care?" he took a step towards the young hybrid. "By all accounts, I've been nothing short of hostile towards you since you arrived, despite my best efforts. You've already told me that you don't approve of my 'spying' on you and it's abundantly clear that you don't trust me...But you came looking for me in the middle of a storm that I'd created after my own father tried to hit you."

"Yeah, thanks for, erm, stopping him by the way," Danny rubbed the back of his neck, sheepishly.

"I did warn you," Vlad reminded him, "But you seem to take great pride in ignoring everything I say, and you didn't answer my..."

"I don't ignore everything you..." Danny began but Vlad glared at him for a moment, daring him to lie. "Okay, maybe I do...kind of...sometimes, I mean, I've really been trying not to lately...I just ignore you when you start talking about trying to take over the world or killing my dad or whatever," he couldn't help but add. "...And you haven't really talked about any of that since I got here...have you..." Danny furrowed his brow as he thought about it.

"Not as such, no," Vlad replied casually.

"Huh," the young hybrid mumbled, "Man, I stink at this," he huffed, purposely falling backwards onto the chair in exasperation. "Well, you haven't blasted me through the window yet, so I can't be that bad," he said, more to himself than to Vlad.

"Is the melodrama strictly necessary?" Vlad simply raised an eyebrow at his antics.

"Makes me feel better," Danny shrugged as best as he could whilst he straightened up to sit properly in the chair, moving his feet from over the arm rest. "Anyway, you're wrong, y'know," he said after a moment.

"About?"

"About me not trusting you. D'you really think I'd be sitting here like this if I didn't...even a little bit? It's not like I sit and talk to every ghost that's ever attacked me..."

"But you just said..."

"That I thought you'd blast me out the window?" Danny laughed, "Yeah...so, I'm nervous. I've never tried to be nice to an arch enemy before, usually they don't wanna be nice. It's still really weird...but I kinda like it...talking to you, I mean," he said truthfully.

Because Danny had chose not to look at Vlad when he dropped that particular bombshell, he couldn't see that the older hybrid was clearly confused at hearing it. But when Vlad didn't say anything for at least a full minute, Danny bravely looked up from the floor and saw the silent Vlad, staring at him as though in a trance.

"Err...Vlad? Earth to Vlad," he said, clicking his fingers in an attempt to get the man's attention.

Vlad blinked at the sound with a frown, lightly shaking his head and listening and be heard Danny sigh. "You spaced out again, didn't you?" the young hybrid asked him.

"No," he snapped back quickly.

"Uh-huh," Danny hummed, "So...how long's it been since someone said that to you?"

"That I 'spaced out'?" Vlad raised a pedantic eyebrow.

"That they like talking to you," the boy corrected him.

Vlad honestly couldn't remember such an occurrence, so he chose not to answer, instead he fell back into old habits and snapped in anger, "Don't you have something more important to do than question me incessantly?"

"And there's angry Vlad again," Danny sighed, throwing up his arms in frustration, "Y'don't have to get mad at me every time you wanna avoid talking about something; just say you don't wanna talk about it and I'll drop it."

"If only things were that simple with you, Daniel," Vlad rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I can make things simple," he replied, "I can be Mr. Simple..." he added then stopped when he heard Vlad chuckle. It always filled the young hybrid with a sense of dread whenever Vlad laughed because it usually involved a sinister, painful plot to destroy him. But after a moment, once he released what he'd just said, Danny turned red with embarrassment as Vlad continued to chuckle.

"No, no, no, no, wait...I didn't mean..." he stammered, "Oh, rats..."

"All the things you've learned this past year and you still can't always think before you speak," the man scoffed, "If it weren't so laughable I suppose it'd be rather tragic...for you, at least."

"Thanks for the sympathy," Danny grumbled, crossing his arms and slouching in his chair.

"You didn't truly expect any from me, did you?" Vlad smirked.

"Err...no."

"Besides, with Jack and Maddie as your parents it would be strange if you didn't embarrass yourself every time you speak."

"Leave my dad outta...wait...you said Jack **and** Maddie, right?"

"I did," he nodded.

"...Why?"

"She used to get as tongue tied as he did sometimes...especially around each other," Vlad told him, "It was painful having to listen to them both," he said. Obviously for him, he meant that it was 'painful' in more ways than one, but he neglected to say it, knowing that it would only start another argument.

"Mom...tongue tied?" Danny scoffed, "Are we talking about the same person here?"

"She grew out of it, Jack didn't," Vlad shrugged.

"Hmm," the boy hummed, surprised, "Wish I could've seen that."

"Why don't you ask Clockwork to show you," the man couldn't stop himself from scowling. "He doesn't seem to mind invading people's privacy, after all," he said bitterly.

"Vlad," Danny sighed, "I told you; that wasn't my fault, I didn't want to..."

"I know," the older hybrid turned away and leant against the wall beside a large window and tugged back the curtain to stare out at the morning rain. "I'm not angry with you...I'm furious at **him**," he added.

"Guess I would be too," the boy replied thoughtfully, "But...y'know I'm not gonna tell anyone...anything, I'd never..."

"Who'd believe you even if you did?"

"...Good point...but I still wouldn't tell anyone," he muttered back.

"Why not?" Vlad suddenly asked, almost cheerfully, "Wouldn't it be the perfect opportunity to get back at an 'enemy' by telling the world his most hidden secrets?"

"What? No!" Danny exclaimed, sitting up in shock, "I wouldn't..."

"Didn't you want revenge when you thought I'd almost killed your friends?"

"Well, yeah, but that was before I knew you didn't really want to..."

"And doesn't it bother you that I used your weaknesses against you to help myself?"

"Of course it does...wait...weaknesses? Y'mean 'cos I care about my friends? That's a weakness? But you care about people too," he snapped back, "You care about your mom and your cousin and your uncle...and Vikki!"

Vlad only sighed in response, avoiding eye contact with the now very confused teenage hybrid across from him. "What's wrong with you?!" he heard Danny ask, "What's wrong with just trying to have a normal conversation without one of us getting angry?!"

"Maybe it's not worth the effort," Vlad said quietly.

"...You don't mean that," Danny breathed, "I don't want to go back to how things were before...do you?"

"I thought that's how it always would be," he shrugged back, "That was my plan and I didn't intend for it to change."

"Well, it was a really bad plan...stupid too," the boy frowned.

"What choice did I have?" Vlad scoffed, "I'd made myself rather clear at my reunion party, hadn't I?"

"You could have apologised!"

"Would you have listened?"

"I...I don't know, but..."

"No, you wouldn't have and I was in no frame of mind to do so anyway," he replied honestly.

"Wh...why did you even bring this up?! Were you trying to make me angry or something?!"

"It is rather entertaining," the older hybrid couldn't conceal a quiet chuckle.

"Huh?! But you just...didn't you just...you're not..."

"I know my secrets are safe. As much as it pains me to admit it, you'll tell no one," Vlad said, glancing down at the very confused child. "I'm not happy that you know what you do...not one bit, but I can't change it and I'm even less enamoured with the fact that Clockwork showed your friends as well...I can't for the life of me, understand why."

"...Erm...weren't you just in angry, jerk Vlad mode like two seconds ago?" Danny asked tentatively and Vlad raised an eyebrow at his choice of words.

"No," he replied quickly, "I was in 'laugh at Daniel's expense' mode."

"...What?" the young hybrid blinked, too shocked to form a coherent sentence as he froze with his mouth agape.

"Did you know that you almost look like your father when you do that?"

"...Do what?"

"Or was it a gaping fish?" Vlad asked, dryly.

"Huh?!"

"Either way, you look ridiculous," the man shrugged.

"I...wait...you..." Danny continued to stammer, "...That was...a joke? You didn't really...then why did you..."

"I don't have much to smile about at the moment," Vlad told him, "I have to take my laughs where I can get them."

"Dude...that was so no funny! You have some serious problems..." the young hybrid said after a moment.

"Oh, I know," he nodded once, seriously.

"That was just...it was messed up, that's what it was! I thought you'd..." Danny bemoaned, "Just...don't do that again! I mean it!"

Vlad said nothing but it was clear that his humour at the situation didn't last for very long because the small grin had already faded from his pale features. Danny couldn't help but notice that the older hybrid looked even more pale than usual, if that was at all possible, and he had light shadows under his eyes as well as a white smattering of stubble on his cheek marring his usually, perfectly trimmed goatee beard.

The older hybrid seemed to notice this around the same time as well when he ran a hand over his cheek with a sigh and be left Danny, without another word, heading for the ensuite bathroom.

"Hey, where'd you think you're going?! Come back here when I'm yelling at you!" Danny exclaimed as he walked off, "Gah! You're so annoying!"

* * *

When Danny next saw Vlad some time later, the older hybrid was wearing a long, black cloak-like coat with lapels lines with dark fur as he strode to the front door. It billowed behind him like a cape and his hair was loose around his shoulders, a stark contrast to his other wise, black attire.

"It's the middle of summer, y'know," he said to the man.

"Nevertheless it is cold outside, and since that's where I'm going, I decided it would be wise to dress appropriately."

"If it's cold, why are you going out there?"

"To walk," Vlad said simply. He liked winter much more than summer because it gave him a chance to wear his most expensive clothes; thick over coats of luxurious weaves as well as leather gloves and warm suits. And he enjoyed walking the grounds in cool weather even more.

"Walking?"

"Yes, people do that on occasion."

"I still don't think it's cold enough to need a coat," Danny said, stubbornly.

"Then by all means, come with me and prove me wrong," Vlad glanced down at him and the boy frowned.

"Fine," he muttered back.

* * *

The rain had finally subsided but it had left a rather chilly day in its wake but for the first few minutes, Danny didn't feel the cold too badly through his jacket. He refused to believe it could be cold in summer but Vlad wasn't surprised that it was; every time he created a storm it played havoc with the natural weather systems and it could go either way to making snow in summer or warm days in winter which could last up to a week before nature righted itself again.

"Well?" Vlad asked, as he made his way down the driveway with Danny beside him.

"Well, what?" Danny held back a shiver. He had a lot of practice at it recently with his new ice powers so he figured that it would be easier to stand cooler temperatures now.

"You're shivering," the man said. "Is it from the weather or your powers?" he asked smugly, knowing fully well that if it were the latter, he'd sense it straight away.

"I'm not shivering!"

"Yes, you are."

"Am not!" the young hybrid shot back, petulantly.

"Of course not," Vlad scoffed, "My mistake," he said, leading Danny to the lake.

It didn't take long for them to reach it but by then, the boy was unable to hide the fact that he was in fact, shivering, and his arms were crossed over his chest in a bid to keep warm.

"Gah! Okay, you win! Why's it so cold?!" he moaned.

"That's my fault, I'm afraid," Vlad said, not sounding at all repentant, "My storms tend to upset the weather no matter what I do."

"That sounds kinda bad...wait a minute...you knew it'd be like this didn't you?!"

"Naturally but you didn't listen to me...again," Vlad replied.

"Alright, I'm...sorry for not listening. How was I supposed to know about your ghost storms, though? And why d'you look so happy about this, anyway? It's supposed to be warm out here."

"I like the cold," the man shrugged elegantly.

"...That's weird," Danny couldn't help but mutter. "I'm getting ghost powers where I can make ice and snow but it still doesn't make me like the cold," he said.

"It doesn't follow that you should...but you'll need a better coat unless you want to freeze out here either way," Vlad said.

"It's your fault! You knew it'd be cold and you made me come outside and freeze just to prove a point!"

"My point is proven now so you may as well go back inside."

"You're the one who told me to come outside in the first place!" Danny exclaimed, throwing his arms up in frustration.

Vlad sighed and preceded to slightly tilt his head as though listening to, or for something that Danny couldn't hear no matter how hard he tried. The man then held out his hand and using his ghost powers, he created a small glowing ball of red ectoplasm that almost looked like flames which floated just above the palm of his hand.

"Here," he said, holding out that same hand to Danny.

"Err...Vlad, what's that?" the young hybrid asked nervously, staring at the glowing energy. It was almost alive with small crackles of lightning flashing around it and the energy at the core burning in its intensity.

"Something that should keep you warm," he answered simply.

"Looks like it'll blow up in my face if I touch it," Danny mumbled, "Literally," he added quietly.

"It won't," Vlad repressed a chuckle, "And I seem to recall you insisting that you had a new found trust in me, but if you'd rather freeze, then I..."

"No, no, no, I'll take it!" the boy protested quickly, upturning his palm so that Vlad could gently drop the floating ectoplasm into his hand.

As he examined it closely, Danny found it even more fascinating and he couldn't take his eyes away from the glowing energy so he failed to notice that his body temperate rose quite quickly, back to its normal rate. "What the heck is this thing?" he muttered, it was unlike anything he'd ever seen.

"Are you still cold?" Vlad asked him instead of answering.

"...No...hey, it worked," Danny realised, "Cool trick," he said, finally looking back up at Vlad who simply nodded in recognition. "How'd you learn how to do that?" he asked after a moment.

"It doesn't matter," the older hybrid replied.

"But I..."

"Speaking of tricks, you did well to put out that fire last night with so little experience controlling your new ability," the man told him, cutting him off before he could say much of anything.

"Thought you said you were half a mile away," Danny frowned, remembering that he'd more or less promised that if Vlad didn't want to discuss some thing, then he'd have to let it drop. "There's no way you saw me..."

"I was half a mile away," Vlad said, "I didn't see you, even my sight isn't that good."

"Then how'd you know I..."

"I sensed you," he explained. "And I'm not surprised you slept through breakfast, you used far more energy than was necessary, but it is to be expected with a new power, I suppose."

"Didn't really think I'd get another one after the Ghostly Wail," Danny admitted, "That thing packs a heck of a punch, y'know."

"So I've heard," Vlad smiled for a moment. "It isn't unusual to develop more than one strong power...but it strange in one so young. For myself, there was a ten year gap between developing my electrical abilities and being able to absorb and redirect ghost energy, so imagine how surprised I was."

"And you...haven't had anymore new powers after that?"

"None," Vlad answered, "I don't expect I'll get anymore at all."

"Good," Danny muttered, "You don't need **more** power."

"You think so?" the older hybrid blinked his eyes down at him in veiled amusement.

"I know so," he replied, "So do all my old bruises," he added.

"Ah," Vlad's lip twisted into a scornful expression and he looked away.

"Lighten up, dude," Danny said suddenly, lightly punching Vlad's arm as he did so. He smirked at the man's concerned, confused expression on seeing his grin, "Man, that was too easy, you should've seen your face!"

For a moment, Vlad found that he was too stunned to speak before an undeniable sense of pride almost overwhelmed him. Part of him, the more vindictive side, wanted only to say that this was because the boy was becoming more like him. But the other, felt that this could be construed as a hopeful sign; if Daniel could find it in him to joke at their past, then perhaps their future didn't have to be the same. He'd learned the hard way not to hope for too much because at this stage in his life, Vlad really wasn't sure how much more disappointment he could take.

"I suppose I deserved that, hmm?" the man shook his head, finally finding his voice. "Your sense of humour has taken a turn for the worst," he said, "That's as sure a sign as any that you've been spending too much time with me."

"Meh, my sense of humour was always kinda messed up," Danny shrugged, looking down again, into the glowing energy he still held. A second later, it fizzled away in his hands without warning and Danny panicked, "I didn't do that!" he exclaimed.

"No, I did," Vlad said. "There's several of my staff over there," he gestured to the opposite side of the lake, "They'll be able to see us in a moment."

"I don't see anything..." the boy trailed off when they both clearly saw several people walking on the other side of the lake. "Oh...those people, heh, I knew that," he muttered, beginning to feel the chill once again.

"And what must they think of me; bringing my only godson outside in this weather without his coat," Vlad said in mock horror.

"I have to go back inside, don't i?" Danny furrowed his brow and watched the older hybrid nod.

"Unless you want to tell them our little secret."

"Erm...no," the boy gave a nervous laugh and took a small step backwards, "You coming?" he asked, pointing back to the castle with his thumb.

"Not yet," Vlad answered him, looking out at the empty forest and then back to Danny who hadn't made any more progress. "Go on then," the man frowned.

"Alright," Danny held up his hands, "Alright, I'm going," he took another backwards step away from Vlad, towards the castle.

* * *

A.N. I felt that this conversation between Danny and Vlad was long overdue since so much has happened and we're on day seven, so in, theory, we're half way though the story.

On a different, note, I'd like to thank all my regular reviewers for taking the time to tell me what you think after every chapter. You guys rock! I may message you at some point about what you think should happen next in the story :)


	20. Hide and Seek

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 20: Hide and Seek**

* * *

Vlad was sitting on the floor of his lab almost buried in wires and screws and all manner of metal scraps of all shapes and sizes. He'd retreated there after he'd sent Danny back into the castle and that is where the young hybrid and his sister found him a few hours later.

"Erm..." Danny began, looking around the chaotic room. Now that the heat from inside the warm castle hit him, he unzipped his denim jacket and the grey cotton one he wore underneath, he'd worn both to keep him warm outside and his sister had done the same. "Vlad...what're you doing?" he asked.

"I doubt you'd understand if I explained it to you," the man replied haughtily.

"...You could try."

Vlad let out a sigh and slowly, he put down the wires he was examining and looked up at Danny. "Very well," he said, watching the two teenagers share a surprised glance. He then reached across the floor and picked up what looked like a small hard drive. It was a mishmash of different metals with numerous wires leading from it and Vlad flicked several switches before putting it back down.

The device, with a quiet whirring sound, began to emit a pale blue light in an upward 'V' shape and Vlad raised his hand, his index finger glowing with ectoplasm as he moved. He started to write, moving his finger as though it were a pen and the air was the paper but as he did so, numbers and symbols followed his finger, appearing out of nowhere. They glowed eerily and Vlad examined them for a moment, he ran his hand through the equation he'd just written and the symbols fizzled for a moment but they remained there, floating in thin air.

"It's...in simple terms, I suppose it's a projector," he told them. "The light generates power to track the electricity in my ectoplasm and it leaves an imprint. I'm not quite sure how long the projection will last for though."

"...Wow..." Danny breathed, running a disbelieving hand through the blue light as Vlad had just done. "You just wrote that in thin air..." the young hybrid remarked.

"How long have you been working on that?" Jazz asked Vlad.

"On and off for a few years," Vlad answered, switching off the machine and they watched as the light fizzled away. "I was trying to make something to project holograms from my computer through the entire room...it didn't exactly work as I thought," he admitted.

"Why not?"

"I could generate the power needed for it easily myself, but I'd have nothing durable enough to store it in. I'll figure it out eventually, I expect."

"Man, this thing is cool," Danny said, eyeing the switches that Vlad had pressed, "Y'think it'd work for me?"

"No..." Vlad furrowed his brow in thought. "It tracks electricity and your powers don't have any...but I suppose I could make it work...maybe...something with your ice powers. I could have it track sub zero temperatures...hmmm..." he said, more to himself than to them.

"Mom and dad don't have anything like this," the young hybrid said.

"Of course they don't," Vlad scoffed. "It isn't designed to incapacitate or imprison ghosts."

"Or rip it apart 'molecule by molecule'," Danny added.

"No," the man rolled his eyes, "But then they never could understand that this technology can be used for other things."

"...Like keeping track of my powers," the young hybrid remarked quietly. "Whoa, before you say anything, that's not me trying to start an argument, I just wanna know if my powers are gonna explode again any time soon."

"...You're more or less stable for now," Vlad told him after a moment. "As long as you keep practicing and only using your new power in small doses, I don't foresee any problems. But I can't promise you that your cold chills have stopped. It's too early to tell."

"No more turning people into ice statues?"

"Hopefully not."

"What about...if I went out into the cold, like when it's snowing...I'd be okay, right?"

"You'd still feel the cold. Didn't you already learn that?"

"Yeah, but it's not like the cold would make me...I dunno..."

"I don't see why it would affect you adversely. If I walked out into a natural storm it wouldn't make the storm any worse...unless I wanted it to."

"Good," Danny breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey, isn't everyone else gonna wonder where you keep disappearing to?" he asked.

"It's a big castle," Vlad shrugged, "I doubt it."

"Y'can't just hide down here," the boy frowned.

"Oh, really?"

"Really," Danny nodded bravely. "Y'know, while you've been **hiding**," he emphasised again, "It's been snowing a lot outside thanks to your stupid storm messin' up the weather and Vikki made a snowman."

"Splendid," Vlad said dryly.

"Yeah, so we're gonna go find her and have a snowball fight."

"Have fun."

"Oh, no, you're coming too," Danny declared.

"...I don't think so."

"Come on, you said you liked the cold."

"I do but that doesn't mean I like making a fool out of myself in it," Vlad glared at him.

"Relax a little, would ya," Danny sighed, "It'll be fun, trust me."

"No," the man snapped vehemently.

"Vlad..."

"I said, no."

"...But I...fine," Danny sighed. "Okay, fine, you don't wanna go, I get it, I guess we'll just go then," he said, turning away so that Vlad wouldn't be able to tell that he was lying.

The last thing Danny wanted was to leave Vlad to his thoughts, alone in the lab, and if lying to the older hybrid was what it took to get him have some fun, then that's what he'd do. "Jazz!" Danny exclaimed suddenly as he placed his fingers around Vlad's forearm. His sister ran towards him quickly and then, Danny, intangibly flew all three of them, with great difficultly, up to the main foyer.

"Get off me!" Vlad growled, pulling his arm free of Danny's grip. "How dare you?!" he yelled at the boy.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Danny rolled his eyes. "And you call me melodramatic," he muttered as he picked up Vlad's long black coat from where the man had left it by the door. "Come on, let's go," he said, holding out the soft fabric.

"I already told you, no!" the older hybrid snapped, "And don't ever do that again!"

"Okay, deal," Danny shrugged.

He hadn't intended to make Vlad angry, but he supposed that it couldn't be helped. If he did anything that wasn't what the man said to do, then he generally got angry, and Danny was sure that Vlad would have fun, so it would be worth it...well, he was mostly sure that it would be.

Danny slung the coat over his shoulder when Vlad made no move to take it, and he opened the door. He then lead the older hybrid but the sleeve of his white shirt, out into the snow covered grounds.

"What did I say about..."

"You didn't say anything about dragging you," Danny grinned.

"I could electrocute you into unconsciousness for this," Vlad hissed.

"So do it."

At Danny's almost dispassionate tone, Vlad blinked in confusion, "...What?" he breathed.

"Do it already, it's not like I could stop you," the young hybrid said, letting go of the man's sleeve and turning back around to face him. They hadn't gotten very far, just a metre or so down from the steps up the castle they'd just just descended and Danny still held Vlad's coat. "You could've stopped me before I'd even made us all intangible but you didn't. You didn't even stop me from dragging you outside," he told Vlad. "You would've blasted me through a brick wall before for less than that, so go ahead and do it now."

"You want me to attack you?" Vlad asked in disbelief.

"No...and I don't think you want to attack me either 'cos you would've done it already," Danny replied, once again holding out the coat for Vlad who took it wordlessly in his hands.

"I..."

"Maybe there is something to this psycho babble o' yours," Danny muttered to his sister who rolled her eyes at him.

Before he could say anything Vlad's eyes widened and he whipped around quickly, dropping his coat as he moved. He raised his right hand and deftly caught the well aimed, round snowball that had been poised to hit him squarely between the shoulder blades. He hadn't even thought about it, it was simply a reflex.

It hadn't only been the sound of the snowball travelling through the air that had caught his attention, but the sound of the excited giggle of the girl that had thrown it, as well as her shuffling feet in the snow. Usually, Vlad drowned out the sounds that his ghost hearing picked up, otherwise he'd go mad, but perhaps it was the threat of a snowball fight that Danny had mentioned which set him slightly on edge. After all, no one wanted to have things thrown at them if they could help it, and Vlad could help it, subconsciously or not.

"Whoa..." Danny spun around to see a stunned Viktoria emerging from behind a tree not far from them. "Nice catch," the young hybrid gave a surprised scoff as he looked at the snowball in Vlad's hand.

"You caught it!" Vikki exclaimed as she ran over to them.

"Clearly," Vlad said, dropping the ball of snow and dusting off his coat as he lifted it from the ground.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"...Erm...good reflexes..." Danny rubbed the back of his neck, "Right?" he turned to Vlad.

Vlad only sighed and decided to return to the castle when Danny stopped him. "Come on," he bemoaned, "You're already outside now and there's no way we'll be able to hit you anyway."

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" the older hybrid said as he narrowed his eyes down at the boy.

"Nope," Danny replied.

"...Five minutes," the man exhaled after a moment, "That's all," he added sternly when Vikki cheered happily.

* * *

Those five minutes turned into an hour before Vlad realised he'd stopped glancing at his watch for at least three quarters of that time. He didn't know what had happened; one minute he'd been standing to the side, barely paying any attention to the children in the midst of their snowball fight in a pitiful attempt to 'join in', and the next, he'd been completely roped in. It had been so long since he'd felt so carefree that he had to admit, it felt good to simply live in the moment, even if that moment did have him crouching behind a mound of snow, kneeling beside Danny as several snowballs skimmed over them.

"Hah! You missed us!" Danny yelled at Vikki as he sat up for a moment, poking his head above the mound.

"We will get you next time!" the girl cried back.

"No, you won't!"

"Oh, yes we will!" Jazz shouted, standing up and throwing a snowball at her brother which hit his right shoulder.

"Jazz!" Danny groaned, ducking down again.

"Hah!" she laughed, "We're winning!"

"Man, this is just embarrassing!" Danny muttered, "What happened to your reflexes, dude?" he asked Vlad.

"My reflexes are perfectly fine, **I** haven't been hit, have I?"

"I think you're kinda missing the point of the game, Vlad," the boy sighed.

"Cowards!" Jazz yelled, "Stop hiding!"

"I'll show you who's the coward!" her brother shouted back in mock anger. He stood quickly, a snowball in hand, only to be pelted on the chest with two from Jazz and Vikki. "Whoa...dirty trick!" he yelled, "No fair!"

"Is very fair!" Vikki laughed, "And you fell for it."

"She's got you there," Vlad stifled a chuckle as Danny brushed the snow off his outer, denim jacket.

"Shut up," he muttered back, not stopping to think that telling Vlad Plasmius to 'shut up' was probably not a good idea. "Y'could help, y'know," he frowned, "I think I could go for a little revenge right now."

"Shocking, Daniel, really, I thought you were above that sort of pettiness," Vlad mocked him.

"I know, I'm a terrible person," Danny nodded sarcastically. "There, I admitted it, will you help me now?" he asked, hopefully.

"I suppose I could do something," Vlad replied, holding out his hand.

Danny handed him the snowball he'd been about to throw before he'd been bombarded by enemy fire and it fell into Vlad's pale hand. For a moment, it glowed with green ectoplasm and then it floated up from his hand to throw itself over the mound of snow and across the field. It flew over Jazz and Vikki's defences and landed right on top of Jazz's head.

"Hey!" the red headed teenager screamed in surprise.

"Hah!" Danny cried, "Cool, you got her! Do it again!" he laughed, handing Vlad a second snowball.

That snowball followed the same path as the first one except this one landed atop Vikki's head and she yelped in surprise.

"Enemy fire!" she cried.

"We're winning now!" Danny yelled over the snow mound.

"Not for long!" Jazz replied, smiling.

"Oh, yeah, well I..." the young hybrid began but he stopped and turned around when the large castle doors opened.

"Vladimir?" Alexei stepped out as he shouted out.

The small smile that had been plastered on Vlad's face for the last half hour suddenly vanished and Danny sighed when he saw it happen. The older hybrid could change his expression so quickly that Danny almost missed it.

"Guess that means time out, huh?" Danny frowned.

Vlad said nothing as he stood up, brushing the snow off his coat and his trousers as best as he could but he didn't get far before a snowball landed on his back. He almost growled as he spun around, wiping his coat clean of the snow again.

"Viktoria!" he ground out.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Vlad, I didn't mean to...I thought you'd catch it again!" she cried back, clearly worried that she'd angered him as she emerged from behind their snow mound.

"That one so doesn't count!" Danny cried at her.

"What do you want?!" Vlad demanded of his uncle who had watched the exchange with a smug smile on his face.

"Valya was worried that Viktoria has been out in the snow for too long," he answered.

"She's fine," he snapped.

"It's clearly not affected her aim," the man chuckled.

"Clearly not," Vlad said and glanced down at his watch, "I presume that lunch is ready," he added on seeing the time.

"Oh yes," Alexei nodded and Vlad walked past him into the castle without a backwards glance.

"Where is he going?" Vikki asked her grandfather after she ran across to him.

"It's lunchtime," he answered, "Come on."

* * *

Once again, Vlad was hiding, though he was reluctant to actually call it 'hiding.' He'd just made an absolute fool of himself out in the snow behaving like a child and he wasn't eager to see the children, or anyone else until it had all blown over. He didn't doubt that Viktoria was relishing the opportunity to regale her mother with the tale of 'Vlad the fool in the snow' and he didn't want to see the expression on Valya's face, or his own mother's, when they heard it.

So, this time, he'd chosen to hide in the tower. Not many men could claim that they owned a tower, but Vlad did own a castle, so it wasn't that extraordinary really. The tower, the largest tower in the centre of the castle, was the place that the hybrid visited the least of all. When he'd first brought the castle, his interior decorator had said that leaving such a beautiful architectural feature to rot was criminal. It had spectacular views and they could have installed a discrete lift to make access easier, but Vlad had refused.

For some reason he'd associated the tower, with all of its dank rooms and draughty passageways, with the dusty rooms he'd been locked up in as a child. Instead of making the most of owning a tower, he'd left it as it was. He let the dust accumulate, he hadn't bothered to have the few leaking spots in the roof fixed and he'd abandoned all of the things he didn't want to see up in the towers' rooms. Under old sheets and stuffed in cardboard boxes lay memories of his childhood and all of his college bric-a-brac, as Danny and his sister had already discovered.

As he meandered slowly around the precarious piles of odds and ends, Vlad sighed and stared down at the old wooden desk he'd used as a child. On its pock marked and scratched surface was a thick layer of dust and he stopped himself from sliding his fingers across the desk when he saw that the dust had recently been disturbed. A track of finger marks, made by hands smaller than his own, ran the length of its surface meaning that someone other than him had been in the room, very recently too.

Nothing looked out of place to him, but it had been years since Vlad had been up in the tower anyway so he had no way of knowing if things had been moved around. All he knew was that someone else had been there and that that someone had small fingers.

* * *

"Vlad!" Valya exclaimed when the hybrid walked into the dining room, "There you are."

Everyone was still seated around the table, the remnants of their lunch having long since been removed by the staff. The two dogs were laying at their feet as they watched the snow fall outside the large, floor length windows.

"Where were you?" Alexei asked him.

"The tower," Vlad answered.

"What is in the tower?" Vikki asked eagerly, excited at the prospect of exploring.

"Nothing," he said quickly, "You haven't been in there have you, Viktoria?"

"No," she shrugged innocently, "Mummy said not to go looking around too much because I would get lost."

"Quite right, too," Vlad nodded.

Danny shared a somewhat nervous look with his sister who, like him, remained silent and curiously, Vlad said nothing either. Jazz knew that going into that room had been a bad idea but she didn't know how on earth Vlad had found out that someone had been in there, but clearly, the hybrid wasn't best pleased about it.

* * *

"Vlad...erm...can I talk to you..." Danny began. He was walking beside his sister and they were alone with Vlad in the large library. The older hybrid was standing up on the mezzanine level seemingly deep in thought when they'd entered the room. There was loud rock music playing throughout the large room on a sound system that Danny was envious of.

Vlad glanced down at them and though he said nothing, he shrugged and Danny knew he must have heard him even over the loud music. The older hybrid waved a lazy hand and with a green glow, the volume decreased dramatically. Danny saw the music system embedded in one of the walls, which looked very high tech and modern with a large LCD screen.

"So...what you said earlier...y'know...about the tower..." the young hybrid shuffled his feet as he spoke nervously. "Erm...we...that is...I went into the tower, not Vikki. I didn't take anything...we...I was just looking around and the door wasn't locked so...Are you...you're not...angry, are you?"

"I did only specify that you keep away from locked doors, didn't I," the man said, more to himself than anyone else. He turned away from the shelf of book which had before appeared so interesting to him, and he leant over the metal railings, his hand interlocking over the edge.

"Yeah, but Jazz said it was a bad idea and that we shouldn't have gone in...but I didn't listen, so it's my fault. We didn't break anything, I swear and I..."

"I wouldn't care if you had," Vlad scoffed.

"...What?"

"Broken anything, that is," the man clarified, "I wouldn't have cared."

"...Why not?" Jazz asked.

"It's up there for a reason. In fact, Daniel, you can go back up there and set fire to the lot for all I care."

"What?! No way! It's important stuff."

"Suit yourself," Vlad scoffed. With a wave of his hand the volume of the music turned up to a ridiculous level and he looked back to the wall of books behind him again, seemingly dismissing them.

"Hey!" Danny cried.

He ran over to the LCD screen and after a moment of checking the different buttons on the touch screen, he lowered the volume again but Vlad repeated his own action, only this time the music was even louder than before. "Vlad!" the young hybrid sighed as he pressed the 'mute' button. But, again, Vlad ignored him and did the same thing for a third time. "Cut it out!" Danny yelled, turning the device off.

"What is it?" the man rolled his eyes as he reluctantly glanced down again at them.

"...You're really not mad at us?"

"If I was I would have said so," the man replied logically.

"Yeah...you would've," the boy mumbled as he pursed his lip.

"Is that all?" Vlad asked, grandiosely.

"Erm...no..." Danny frowned. He knew that if Vlad wasn't angry now, he probably would be in a minute, but he had to know, so he went ahead and spoke. "I was...wondering...what happens when all this is over...I mean you're like a different person now. The old Vlad would've never had a snowball fight before and you were actually having fun other there!"

Vlad let out a rueful scoff as he blinked and directed his attention to the large stone fireplace rather than Danny and his sister. "You were, I saw it, you were totally having fun out there!" the young hybrid crossed his arms, stubbornly.

"So what? In your eyes does that mean I'm suddenly 'good'?" Vlad frowned. "Have you forgotten just who I am and what I've done? I'm not a good man, I'm not even a nice man, I'm an evil, self absorbed villain and I'll never change."

"You believe that, Jazz?" Danny glanced at his sister for a moment.

"Not really, no," she answered.

"I hope you don't expect me to join your little band of do-gooders," Vlad sneered.

"Would that be so bad?" the boy asked him.

"Hilarious, Daniel," the older hybrid chuckled, genuinely amused for a moment. "Oh...you were serious," he then said once he'd stopped laughing. "You seriously expect me to help, don't you? Have you forgotten that I'm an attempted murderer? I've tried to kill you and your father more than once," he stated, unabashed.

"Come on, Vlad, I've seen what you can do, if you really wanted to kill anyone it'd be easy for you and they'd be dead already," the boy said, "And we all know I wouldn't be able to stop you," he added reluctantly.

"You're a really are a simple minded fool if that's what you think," Vlad scoffed in a manner more like his old self and it made Danny slightly nervous. "I want Jack to suffer for what he did to me and killing him quickly won't accomplish that," the man told them, chillingly.

"It's been twenty years," Jazz stated, "And he's not exactly suffering, is he?"

"Don't remind me," the older hybrid snapped at her. "He's rewarded for his stupidly and nothing I do seems to make any difference! Maybe Skulker was right all along and I should have just killed him, but a bullet in the head won't make him suffer as I did," he growled, denting the metal barrier with his strong fingers as he clenched his fists around it again.

Danny and Jazz exchanged a nervous expression at Vlad's blatant dismissal of their father's life and though they understood the man's desire for revenge, but they didn't approve of course.

"So..." Jazz began calmly, "Say you did it, say you killed our dad...you make him understand everything...then what? What happens next? It's not like mom will suddenly love you because he's gone and Danny'd never trust you again. Your family probably wouldn't want anything to do with a cold blooded murderer and they'd leave you too. It wouldn't change the fact that you're half ghost..."

"Who says I want to change it?" Vlad raised an eyebrow at her. "Why would I want to be human again when I hardly even remember what it was like to be one? I like what I am, Jasmine. What I am...what happened to me gives me power that no one will ever be able to comprehend, not even Danny Phantom," he said, sparing a glance at the boy in question.

"Maybe," she replied, "I'm just pointing out that you wouldn't actually gain anything from killing dad...but you're not stupid, you already know that."

"Of course I'd gain something!" the older hybrid snapped, "My revenge!"

"Would it be worth it?" Jazz asked, cleverly. "I can't really say I understand all that well...but we've all had times where we've wanted some kind of revenge when someone's done something to make us angry."

"Not like this."

"No..." she agreed quietly.

"I can't forgive him for it," Vlad told them simply. "I may have come to terms with its effects regarding my ghost half but only because it benefits me. His stupidity could have cost me my life..."

"It wasn't just his fault!" Danny cried. "Dad wasn't the only one who didn't check those calculations...you didn't either...or mom," he said.

"I wasn't the one who pressed that button."

"Okay, so you didn't press the stupid button!" the young hybrid sighed, "But you can't just blame dad for it when all three of you were responsible for it."

"They didn't pay the price for what happened!"

"Maybe if they knew what they'd done, they'd feel guilty about it!" Danny shouted back, "All they know is that you were in the hospital for a while and now you're not! They don't know you're half ghost!"

"I'll never tell them," Vlad glared at him.

"Then how are they supposed to feel bad about it?!"

"...I don't care," the man admitted, "I don't want their pity or their guilt. I just want them...him...to suffer...Have you ever read the Count of Monte Cristo?" Vlad asked them, after a moment.

"No," Danny answered.

"Yes," Jazz said at the same time.

"Why am I not surprised," the man scoffed.

"I had to read it for a project. I was writing about revenge and anger in literature and how..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," her brother rolled his eyes, "Is this going anywhere?"

Jazz only sighed at him as she looked back at Vlad, "So you're saying you're like Edmond Dantes?"

"I'm saying, regardless of what happens, I will get my revenge. I don't care who suffers as long as I get it."

"But he realised that revenge does more harm than good in the end."

"Well, it took him a while to realise that...or maybe he's just a better person than me," Vlad replied.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Danny said, dryly.

Vlad shook his head for a moment before he spoke again, "The point is, you can't stop me. Nothing can. Who knows, in the end I may come to the same conclusion that Dantes did...but only after it's too late."

"But if you know that, then you can stop," Jazz said.

"It's not that simple."

"Why isn't it?" she asked contrarily.

"...It just isn't," he answered her, almost pedantically. "And, besides...you really do need to learn to appreciate culture, Daniel," the older hybrid told him.

"Oh, yeah, sure, I'll do that...in between midnight ghost fights and school work and everything else," he muttered back.

"In that case, I have some good news for you," Vlad said, his mood suddenly elevated. "I'm taking you to see a play," he grinned.

"What?!" Danny exclaimed. "What the heck for?!"

"So that you will learn to appreciate..."

"Culture, yeah, I heard you, but I don't..."

"Think of it as educational," the man shrugged, "Or not, I really don't care. Hamlet is one of the world's best stories, I'm sure even you can appreciate that."

"But...Hamlet as in...Shakespeare...I won't even be able to understand it, all those stupid 'thee's' and 'thou's' people don't speak like that anymore!"

"And neither will they, not much, anyway...There's a showing this week...tonight, in fact, I was going to go myself instead of that ridiculous conference in Indiana, but...well, never mind. All's well that ends well," he said, with a grin.

"Vlad!"

"I'm going to assume you didn't bring any formal clothes with you?"

"Erm...no," Jazz said.

"Then you'll have to buy some. This isn't the kind of theatre that allows for jeans and t-shirts," he explained, looking at Danny pointedly.

"We don't have any money and even if we did, we wouldn't spend it on fancy clothes just for a stupid play!" Danny cried. "And you said it's tonight...you won't even be able to get any tickets so we can't go..."

"That won't be a problem for me," Vlad said simply. It was the perfect opportunity for him to leave the castle so that if, or when, his father came, he wouldn't have to be there at all, and neither would anyone else.

* * *

A.N. So, I had some serious problems with writer's block on this one but I finally got it done and I get to include the play idea that I mentioned ages ago. It's all good :)


	21. Old Habits Die Hard

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 21: Old Habits Die Hard**

* * *

"So...what's this play thing about, anyway?" Danny called across to his sister.

They were currently in an upmarket, very expensive dress shop which Vlad had directed them to and Danny was sitting with his suit in an expensive looking black cardboard bag, waiting for his sister to try on her next dress. He was slouching back in a plush arm chair in a private room so at least other people couldn't listen to their conversation and Vikki was sitting on the floor next to him.

"Maybe the pink one was better..." Jazz muttered, ignoring her brother's question.

"You looked like a giant marshmallow," he told her.

"He is right," Vikki nodded.

"...Great," she sighed.

"How long is this gonna take? I found a suit in like three minutes and Vikki found a dozen dresses the other day in less than an hour. We've been here for ages and you still haven't found **one**!"

"What about this?" Jazz spoke, drawing back the curtain, wearing a long, dark blue dress.

"It's fine," Danny shrugged.

"It is beautiful!" the young girl exclaimed.

"Thank you," Jazz grinned happily, "See, at least Vikki is helpful."

"Yeah, okay, get that one then," he sighed. "So...the play, what's it about?" he asked again.

"You really don't know what happens in Hamlet?" Vikki blinked.

"Erm...no..."

"It is very sad story," she told him, "Makes me cry."

"Vlad was right, you do need to read more," Jazz said and he huffed in response.

"I don't get the time," Danny sighed.

"Anyway," his sister began. "Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's tragedies. It's a about a prince whose father is murdered by his uncle and he swears revenge."

"Doesn't sound **that** sad."

"Everyone dies," Vikki told him suddenly.

"...Yeah, okay, **that** sounds sad," he admitted.

* * *

Later that day, Vlad was standing opposite Skulker in his lab as he paced the room. His earlier conversation with Danny and Jazz had made his blood boil and set him on edge; as if he didn't have enough to worry about lately.

"I have a job for you," Vlad told him.

"Wait just a minute!" the Hunter exclaimed, "I'm still fixing all my traps that **you** destroyed, I don't have time for..."

"I said I'd replace them."

"That doesn't help me now, does it?"

"...I'll pay you double," the hybrid offered and Skulker's eyes seemed to light up.

"What's the job?" he asked after a moment.

"Jack Fenton," Vlad answered simply.

"Not again," Skulker sighed. "Plasmius, you'd be better off if you just..."

"I want you to get rid of him," the hybrid clarified, darkly.

"Oh...well...it's about time..." the Hunter remarked.

"I don't care how you do it...just...make him suffer," Vlad told him.

"With pleasure," Skulker grinned.

* * *

It was dark outside as Vlad's limousine stopped outside the theatre and the group of seven exited the vehicle. Even though they'd driven over an hour away from the castle, there was still a light dusting of snow from Vlad's storm on the ground.

Jazz had worried that the long blue dress she'd brought would be far too elaborate for the theatre, but it was clear that Vlad had been right and nothing she chose from the shop would have looked out of place here. People were dressed only in their best and most expensive clothes. Vlad himself was wearing a black, three piece suit with a pale blue tie and long black overcoat.

The theatre itself was an old building, early Georgian at least if not older, with grand, high ceilings and checkered tiled floors with a red carpet. The man at the door had been asking people for their tickets but apparently he didn't dare do such a thing with Vlad, instead, he took the billionaires' long black coat when it was held out to him without having to be asked.

"Mr. Masters, good to see you again," a middle aged man greeted Vlad as he stepped through the door.

Danny was paying too much attention to the opulent surroundings to comment at the man's actions. He was gazing up at the double height, arched roof, craning his neck to see all of the detail in the chandeliers and in the painted ceiling itself. With his ghostly enhanced eyes he could see details that other people had no hope of ever seeing and it just made it all the more enticing to look at.

"You look ridiculous, Daniel, stop it," Vlad snapped down at him.

"But it..." Danny protested, pointing up at the ceiling. He'd never seen something to grand, even in Vlad's castle.

"Yes, it's a stunning piece of Georgian architecture, well done for noticing. But you're not here to stare at the ceiling!"

"...Fine..." the young hybrid sighed, looking straight ahead instead of up.

* * *

Vlad lead them up a staircase which was as grand as the rest of the building and they came to a bar constructed of dark wood with shining glasses and bottles lined up at the back.

Even the pale skinned, dark haired young woman behind the bar seemed to recognise Vlad and without having to be asked, she stopped wiping the counter and poured a generous amount of brandy into a glass for him. Vlad took it and handed it to his uncle, then be looked back at her and watched as she poured another glass.

He said a toast in Russian to Alexei and knocked back the contents of his own glass in one. Unfortunately it did nothing to steady his nerves and he wasn't too pleased to note that he was uneasy. Vlad expected Skulker to be murdering Jack Fenton in the most brutal way possible while he enjoyed a night at the theatre. It was perhaps one of the most callous things he'd had done. There was no way that Danny and Jazz wouldn't know that their father's death was...or would be...his fault, so what would he do then?

Daniel would never forgive him, he knew that, but the question was, why did that thought bother him, even a little bit? He was one step shy of revenge, that was all that really mattered. It didn't even matter anymore that he wouldn't personally be the one to end Jack's life, he just wanted the man gone so that he could put it all behind him. It was only fair that he got that chance after everything he'd been through.

"Something wrong?" his uncle asked him, noticing his vacant expression.

Vlad regarded Alexei and gave him a small smile, or as much of one as he could muster before he shook his head lightly. "Nothing," he answered, "Nothing at all."

What would Alexei think of him if he knew the truth? Vlad had always gotten along more with his uncle than he had his own father even though they weren't related by blood, only by marriage, it hadn't ever mattered. He'd long suspected, even as a child, that Alexei had wanted to do more for him, to protect him from his father if he could. He'd done more than most. He'd allowed Vlad to visit him in Russia, taking him away from his father for a time. He and Valya had visited him, knowing that she had been his only friend even though that had meant living under the same roof as Vladislav.

And now, that same man was sitting before him as he himself contemplated the soon to be, if not already matter of fact,mmurder of his ex-best friend; the first friend he'd ever made, beside his cousin. Surely Alexei would be disappointed in him if he knew. Valya certainly would. But Vlad didn't care. They hadn't been the ones to suffer Jack's idiocy; he had. It was his decision, not theirs and they had no right to judge him.

He didn't care at all, not one bit.

* * *

"Ahh," Skulker grinned.

The Hunter hid a short distance away as the people from the ghost conference enjoyed their late night party. There was music, food and wine and more importantly, there was his prey, loudly describing one of his inventions to a group of eager listeners.

He'd long believed that Vlad should have simply killed the man and gotten on with his life, it would have made things so much simpler. No ridiculous, elaborate plans were necessary, he would simply march over and slay his prey. That was all. Then he would have a new trophy and Vlad would be free of his burden. It was a win-win situation.

Vlad Plasmius was a difficult man but even he deserved some peace of mind. Aside from being difficult, Plasmius was also his friend, however unusual that friendship was. Neither of them was really the 'friend' type, but over time, that's what they had become, though of course they'd never admit it aloud.

"Hello...ghost hunter," Skulker grinned as he appeared before Jack Fenton, floating in the air.

"Ghost!" the man yelled, pulling a ghost weapon seemingly out of thin air.

* * *

The play, having reached its tragic crescendo, left a grieving Horatio standing amidst the bodies of King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, Laertes and Prince Hamlet. He regarded the dead prince with reverence and there was hardly a dry eye in the theatre as the actor himself cried, "Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!"

Suddenly, people began to jump in their seats as a rapidly increasing banging noise emanated from the stage. "Why does the drum come hither?" Horatio frowned, his voice hoarse.

Then, a man dressed in a silver chest plate of armour underneath a dark cloak and riding boots stormed onto the stage beside an older, white haired man. It was Fortinbras, prince of Norway and the English Ambassador flanked by the formers' armed soldiers.

"What is this sight?" Fortinbras demanded, staring down at the bodies.

"What wouldst thou like to see? If it be woe or wonder...I pray you, cease your search," Horatio answered.

"Oh, proud death," the crown prince of Norway breathed, taking slow steps forwards, "This cries on havoc."

"The sight is dismal, and our affairs from England come hither now too late," the Ambassador said. "The ears are senseless that should give us hearing. Where should we have our thanks for that Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are now dead?"

"Not from his mouth had it the ability of life to thank you," Horatio spared a brief glance at the former King who lay dead across the stage. "He never gave commandment for their deaths. But since you jump upon this bloody question, you from the Polak wars and you from England are here arrived...give orders that these bodies, high on a stage be placed to the view. And let me speak of how these things came about. So you shall hear of carnal...bloody and unnatural acts. Of accidental judgements...casual slaughters...of deaths put on by cunning and forced cause. All this...can I truly deliver," he finished grandly.

"Let us haste to hear it," Fortinbras nodded, taking a seat on the empty throne of Denmark with confidence. "And call the noblest to audience. For I...with sorrow...embrace my fortune," he said.

"Of that, I also have cause to speak. But let the truth be presently known...lest more misfortune of plots and errors happen," Horatio spoke.

"Let four captains bear Hamlet like a solider to the stage for he was likely to have been proved most worthy and royal. And for his passage...the solider's music and rites of war speak for him. Take up the bodies...Go, bid the soldiers to shoot," he ordered his men.

As he had ordered, four uniformed men emerged to carry Hamlet off the stage and the red curtain fell to the sound of silence, before a raucous applause took over. *

* * *

"I can't believe...I actually liked it. I liked watching a play..." Danny blinked as they followed the bustling crowd into the foyer.

"Why is that so hard to believe? Hamlet is one of the best plays ever written, anyone can appreciate it. I did tell you," Vlad replied, smugly.

"But I'm not smart enough to understand it, I didn't think..."

"You are smart, Danny, you just don't realise it," Jazz told him.

"I'm never gonna hear the end of this, am I?" the young hybrid muttered to Vlad.

"Never," he agreed and Vikki laughed.

"...Okay, fine," Danny shrugged after a moment. "Then I'll never let you forget that you had a snowball fight with a bunch of kids," he grinned.

"How will my reputation survive?" Vlad asked, sarcastically, "I'm ruined!"

"Yep, and it's not like you can threaten to make me see another play, I might end up liking it again."

"Heaven forbid. What have I done?" the older hybrid grumbled with a roll of his eyes, "I've unleashed a monster," he cried.

"Heh," Danny laughed, looking out now as they left the theatre as Vlad's limousine drove to pull up beside them.

* * *

At around three in the morning, Danny was jerked awake by Jazz who'd run into his room and literally shook him awake.

"Wha...what?! What's going on?! Is it an earthquake?! A ghost?!" he stammered as he leapt to his feet on the bed, ready to fight.

"It's just me, Danny," Jazz said and he relaxed a little.

"W...Jazz?" he furrowed his brow, "What are you..."

"Mom just called me," she stated.

"Huh?" Danny blinked, confused as looking around then sat back down. He noticed that it was dark, save for the bedside lamp Jazz had turned on and the clock there told him the time. "At three a.m?" he questioned in disbelief.

"Yeah. They were attacked...well, everyone at the ghost conference was...but dad got hurt...It's nothing major!" she added quickly when her brother began to panic.

"What happened?" he asked, now wide awake.

"From what they told me...Skulker attacked them...mom said it looked like dad was his target...everyone else was just in the way," Jazz said.

"What about dad, you said he..."

"He sprained his ankle and he got burned a bit on his arm...that's all. There was more than enough people there all armed to the teeth. They're ghost hunters for crying out loud, it's like they have to sleep with their ectoguns under their pillows! Anyway, they didn't have too much of a problem with Skulker. A few other people got s but hurt...they're fine though."

"...Good," Danny sighed in relief.

"Why would he attack people at the conference anyway?"

"He always attacking people," he shrugged.

"I don't know...I just...I have a bad feeling about this," Jazz shivered, crossing her arms.

"Course you do, dad got hurt, but he's okay and.."

"No, Danny, I mean...I have a bad feeling that Vlad told him to do it."

"No way!" he exclaimed. "He's different now! He's like a totally different person! We actually...kinda...mostly get along now and he wouldn't..."

"Just because he acts differently now it doesn't mean he's forgiven dad, remember? He said so himself, he'll never forgive him. Skulker works for Vlad, he might have..."

"No!"

"I think talking about his revenge didn't do him any good. I thought it would but maybe..." Jazz lamented sadly.

"Enough, Jazz. No more psycho talk. Vlad's not a project! He's a person!"

"I know that!" she cried angrily, "I just think maybe we should ask him..."

"Well, you ask him then, 'cos I'm not! I actually had a really good day today...yesterday...whatever, and I'm not gonna ruin it!"

"What if he really did do it?" Jazz asked him, genuinely afraid to know herself.

"And what if he didn't?!" Danny shot back.

"Wouldn't you rather know for sure?"

"...I guess...but it's just gonna make him mad..." he sighed. "ANII?" the young hybrid asked, uneasily.

"Yes, Mr. Fenton?" the AI responded automatically.

"Erm...can you tell me where Vlad is...I...we need to talk to him and I really don't wanna search the whole castle..."

"Mr. Masters is in his library," ANII answered.

"Thanks...So...what'd we do?" he asked his sister.

"We ask him," Jazz said simply, "And if I'm wrong...I'll apologise."

* * *

The moment they walked into the dark library, Vlad's calm voice spoke out, "What are you still doing up?" he asked them. He was sitting at his desk staring down at a thick, old volume whose pages were tinged with age. "Couldn't you sleep either?" he reiterated when he got no answer. The dogs, Iskra and Nika were dozing lightly at his feet and their ears twitched a little when he spoke but they didn't move, they seemed content to stay where they were.

It was cold in the room, but they noticed that Vlad didn't seem to care. He was wearing his deep red dressing gown over his half buttoned up dress shirt and black trousers that he'd worn to the theatre. On his desk was a glass tumbler and a half empty bottle of alcohol. Obviously, insomnia was an unfortunate Masters' family trait.

"**I** was sleeping just fine," Danny muttered to his sister.

"Then what's the problem?" Vlad asked.

"I don't...there isn't one," the young hybrid said, "Come on, Jazz, I told you this was..."

"Dad got hurt at the ghost conference earlier," Jazz said suddenly and her brother let out a deep sigh beside her.

"...How unfortunate," the older hybrid remarked, pressing the pages down on his book so that he wouldn't lose his place now that he leant back in his chair. "But you'll forgive me if I don't seem as concerned as you," he said.

"Jazz, don't..." Danny grabbed her arm, "I'm telling you, he didn't..."

"Skulker attacked them...mostly he attacked dad. Danny says not...but..."

"You're asking whether or not I am responsible?" Vlad concluded easily and calmly.

"...Are you?" Jazz asked, fearing the answer.

"Yes," the older hybrid answered simply, without a hint of regret.

"**What**?!" they exclaimed together.

"Do calm down," Vlad sighed. "You know he's still alive. I didn't expect that all those fools would be able to fight Skulker off...but then I didn't expect for him to attack with everyone there, either. I should have known he'd do something like this; subtlety was never his forte."

"That's...that's not...that's just..." Danny yelled, confused, "You could've killed our dad"

"That was rather the point," the man said sarcastically.

"I can't believe you just...I can't believe you did that!"

"Why not?"

"I thought you...I thought..."

"I did warn you," Vlad replied. "I am not a good man. I cannot, and I will not forgive him..."

"You sent Skulker to kill him! That's not normal! People go to jail for stuff like that!"

"Not me."

"You...you...you jerk! You were right! This isn't worth the trouble, you'll never change! I was stupid to think you were a good person!" Danny cried.

"Danny..." Jazz placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down.

"No, you were right, Jazz. I can't believe I just defended him! There's no way I'm staying here now! I'm going home, right now...come on..."

"How are we even going to get there? And what'll we tell mom and dad?" she asked quickly.

"I don't care! I'm so not staying here anymore!" Danny shouted.

"You don't care to hear what I have to say on the subject?" Vlad asked.

"No! I don't! I don't wanna hear anything you've got to say, Plasmius!" the young hybrid yelled and Vlad sighed.

"Do as you please, then, both of you. I'll leave the ghost portal open should you decide to leave. Good night," he replied simply, surprising himself at how calm he sounded. He then teleported away, leaving the room in a breeze of ghostly smoke, the pages of his book rustling behind in the slight draught

* * *

Time always seemed to pass differently in the Ghost Zone and unless a watch was to hand, hours could pass by in what appeared to be a matter of minutes. There were few landmarks to really use as reference points and many of the doors and floating rocks moved of their own accord which oftentimes made progress through the space seem even slower.

"Okay..." Danny breathed, "I think we're like half way there now. I'm not used to going through the Zone from Vlad's portal but I'm pretty sure we're not lost...yet...Look...I'm really sorry I yelled at you..." he said to her as he carried both her, and two bags of their belongings. He simply hadn't been able to burden himself with anymore, but in their haste to leave the castle, it didn't seem to matter much.

"It's okay, Danny," Jazz smiled, "I didn't want to believe it either, I thought it was just a bad feeling."

"Yeah, but you're the smart one. Your bad feelings are usually right. This was all just a stupid waste of time," he lamented, "We never should've listened to Clockwork in the first place."

"...Maybe not," she sighed.

"I thought we were really getting along and I thought he...but I guess not, huh?"

"...Yeah..." she breathed again.

"D'you think I should've...y'know...attacked him? I would've before..."

"I don't think it would've done any good. Besides, if things got bad...what if Vikki...and Mrs. Masters woke up and saw you?"

"I just..." Danny began but stopped when he heard his lively ringtone. It was difficult for him to answer it while he was still flying whilst holding his sister up in the air, so he swooped down and they landed on one of the many floating rocks around them. He dropped both the bags to the ground and answered his phone.

"Danny!" Sam yelled loudly enough to hurt his eardrum. "We've been calling you for ages!" she said.

"I'm in the Ghost Zone, it doesn't have great reception from back home, remember?"

"Whatever! You need to come back! Right now!" the goth girl exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know, we're like half way there..."

"You know?! Then why are you so calm?! Amity Park's being attacked and people are..."

"Whoa, whoa, wait, attacked! By who?" Danny asked, furrowing his brow.

"A giant plant, dude!" Tucker yelled, "It's controlling everyone and we can't get near it anymore!"

"We managed to get the ghost shield up on your house and people can't get in...I guess 'cos they're being controlled by a ghost it means their kinda like ghosts now," Sam added.

"Jazz...y'don't think Vlad did this too?" Danny asked her quietly.

"Why would he? He doesn't care about Amity Park...well, mom and dad aren't there, so I don't think **this** is his fault. Amity's always getting attacked by ghosts."

"Good point," he muttered.

"Did you say 'Vlad'?" Sam asked, "What's going on? Did he sent this stupid ghost?!"

"...Its a long story, Sam. I'll fill you in when we get there," Danny said.

"Just hurry up!" Tucker told him

* * *

Amity Park was not as Danny remembered seeing it last. Every road, every street, every building and every vehicle was buried under a thick layer of decidedly unnatural vegetation. Thick jungle vines and strange plants seemed to smother the city and the vines seemed to move as though they were alive as they wrapped ever tighter around the city.

"...Whoa..." Danny blinked, staring out through the window of the Fenton Works living room.

"Yeah," Tucker nodded, "Thats what we said."

"...How did this..."

"A giant plant ghost," Sam answered, "I thought you said you knew...that's why you left Wisconsin...right?"

"Erm...no," the hybrid shook his head, "We left Wisconsin because Vlad's a jerk."

"What?" the Techno geek frowned.

"He sent Skulker to kill dad," Jazz explained. "He's fine though...and we need to worry about this first," she added, looking out at the city just past the ghost shield.

"He sent Skulker to..." Sam repeated.

"Yeah, he did, now let's just work on getting rid of this ghost, okay?!" Danny snapped.

"Sue. No problem," the goth girl answered, bluntly, "Plant ghost, first, attempted murder, second. Got it."

"Where's Valerie?" he asked, ignoring his friend's sarcasm.

"The plant got her," Tucker said. "It's got this...vine...thing...it controls people. It got everyone!"

"When you said everyone I didn't think you..." Danny trailed off.

"Oh, we meant everyone," Sam nodded.

"...Okay...okay..." he took deep breaths. "So...what's it want? Did it say..."

"I don't know! Between the fighting and the running away and watching it take control of everyone in the city, we forgot to ask it!" Sam cried.

"So...we go out there and we kick its green plant butt!" Danny nodded.

"We tried that. We were lucky to get away without that stupid vine thing getting us!" Tucker cried. "Nothing works on him, he just fixes himself and the plants do too! I hate plants!"

"So...we...we take a weed-whacker," the hybrid shrugged.

"Like that'll work," Sam scoffed.

* * *

*1 I didn't really change the dialogue from Hamlet that much. I don't know how familiar everyone is with the language but having studied it for ages it gets easier to understand Shakespearian dialogue. I had to make it a bit easier to understand since Danny is never a big fan of studying in general, he wouldn't get it, or even like it it were all spoken as it was originally written.

* * *

A.N. Since Undergrowth attacks Amity Park around the time that Danny first gets his ice powers, I figured that it's a good opportunity to bring him into my story. Vlad's not actually the mayor so his development plan isn't what draws him to the city, but urban development happens all the time, regardless of who the mayor is and honestly, I had no other ideas for what could happen next.


	22. Undergrowth's Debut

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 22: Undergrowth's Debut**

* * *

Danny Phantom had wasted very little time as he flew out to meet the ghost that called himself 'Undergrowth.' With Vlad's betrayal of his tenuous trust he believed, as he always did, that fighting something would take his mind off things

Sam and Tucker stormed through the streets with Jazz at the wheel of the Fenton Assault Vehicle, her furious driving sporadic enough to rival her father's. Danny flew over them, attacking the moving plants that got too close to them or drawing them away so that the weapons on the vehicle could get a good shot. After a few minutes, he saw the giant plant that seemed to be behind it all. The plant ghost was perhaps one of the largest that Danny had ever seen and it seemed to take root from the ground itself.

"The ghost boy," it sneered down at him, "How quaint."

"Why does everyone always know who I am?" Danny rolled his eyes. "Whatever, I'll give you one chance...erm...whoever you are, t'go back to the Ghost Zone before I make you!"

"You will make me, will you?"

"You bet I will. The last thing I need right now is a giant plant attacking my town!"

"I care nothing for your petty problems. I care only for my children and they have suffered pain in the name of human 'progress' for long enough. Now you too shall feel pain, the pain of Undergrowth!" the ghost growled.

"Undergrowth, huh?" Danny frowned as he blasted off one of the ghost plant's arms only to watch it regrow itself with vines and leaves seconds later. "Looks to me like you're over grown!" he yelled. He then flew straight through the ghosts' torso, making a huge, gaping hole and then he fired at its head, knocking it clean off. Both injuries repaired themselves seemingly without any effort so he tried freezing as much as he could but the plants shattered the ice with ease.

"You can't destroy a being who's able to regenerate himself!" Undergrowth roared and unleashed several giant venus flytraps at the young hybrid. Each one of them had teeth sharp enough to slice through his skin like a knife through butter and they destroyed everything in their path as they chased after him. These plants were stronger than the ones he'd encountered before and some even repaired themselves as Undergrowth did.

Danny flipped in mid-air, close long back towards Undergrowth as he grew a giant ball of ectoplasm in his hands.

"He can't regenerate if he's a pile of ashes," he said to himself, ready to unleash his attack.

Before he did, he felt a sudden and all-encompassing chill of cold throughout his body, it shattered his control in its sudden ferocity and the ectoplasmic ball fell from his hands, spiralling to the ground below him. "...C...c...cold...not...not again...not...not...now..." he muttered, wrapping his arms around himself.

As he had before, he tried to control it. He tried to release the energy instead of repressing it but now the fly traps or, rather the ghost traps that had been chasing him had finally caught up and they enveloped him in their thick vines, burying him completely. The cold that he released froze the plants around him but they shattered it easily and more appeared to hinder his escape. "...G...guys...get outta here!" Danny managed to yell through the vines, loud enough for them to hear him.

"No way!" Sam yelled back.

"Just go...please!"

"But Danny..." Jazz yelled, stepping out of the Assault Vehicle.

"**Go**!" he screamed and this time, they seemed to listen to him. He heard the roar of the engine and the blasts of the ecto guns as they drove away at lightning speeds.

"Such limited life forms," the ghost sneered, watching as Danny's friends escaped. "Although instant destruction is an option...I feel that replanting would be more...productive."

As Undergrowth spoke, strange plants that began to emit glowing lights, almost like dragonflies surrounded him and Danny suddenly felt as though his eyes were extremely heavy.

"...S...sleep spores...oh...g...great..." Danny shivered, the cold still affecting him as he closed his eyes.

* * *

"Sir?" ANII spoke, startling Vlad.

He'd been quite content for over an hour, not thinking of his god children, his father, or even Jack Fenton as he occupied himself with the 'projector' he'd shown to Danny and Jazz. He'd contacted Skulker since the failed attack of course, but the Hunter had returned to his lair to lick his wounds and Vlad had nothing to say to him that he hadn't already heard before. He was furious of course, but what could he do? He should have simply done the job himself, at least that way it would have been done right. Next time, he would go himself and that would be an end to it. He'd yell at Skulker later when he wasn't tired at all.

Instead, Vlad had been working on trying to make the 'projections' of light last for a longer amount of time when the AI had chosen to snap him from his technological induced daze.

"What?" he hissed.

"I am still monitoring Danny Fenton's ecto-signature, there has been a spike in its activity and now it is..."

"Not my problem."

"But, sir..."

"Daniel has left my castle, he's no longer my concern...nor is he yours."

"I still have access to the cameras that you placed inside Fenton Works and the footage shows that Amity Park is under attack by..."

"I have no obligation to save that wretched town or its dim-witted inhabitants," he rolled his eyes.

"As you wish, sir, however, I would like to add that..."

"Enough!" Vlad growled, silencing the AI.

* * *

Danny finally awoke slowly, his vision foggy and blurry as he gently turned his head in an attempt to make sense of where he was. He was surrounded by green. That was all he knew. Everything was green. The vines that bound him were green, the cocoon of leaves and flowers that held him was green, even the light that permeated though the vines seemed to be green. Green was quickly becoming Danny's least favourite colour.

When he felt some of his strength returning to him, he began to struggle against the vines but they seemed stronger than steel and he couldn't break them. The more he struggled, the tighter they became and he felt his fingers throbbing as the vines began to impede his blood flow. He tried freezing them but more grew instantly to cover more of him than before, so Danny decided, wisely, to stop doing it.

"Let me go!" he ground out, clenching his fists.

"Awake at last," an echoing, eerie voice said.

The voice seemed to be speaking from outside Danny's small prison and it made it all the more frustrating that he couldn't see his captor. That's when he suddenly remembered it all. The ghost was nothing more than an overgrown plant that called himself 'Undergrowth'...who happened to be exceptionally, powerful.

"Yeah, great, I'm awake...now let me go!"

"No."

"Argh!" Danny growled angrily, making his fingers glow green with energy.

The moment that they did though, two giant flowers latched onto his hands and seemed to block his power. "What the heck are these things?!" he cried.

"The vines are far stronger than any meat creature...no matter how powerful they think they are. Perhaps one day you will see that this is what nature intended all along. Mankind is merely a temporary weed in the garden of life. A weed that can be removed," he said, darkly.

"Danny Phantom bows to no plant!" Danny hissed.

"Your optimism does you credit," Undergrowth grinned. "But observe, your once proud metropolis," he said and the cocoon suddenly parted allowing Danny to see the ghost before him.

Undergrowth was smiling, looking out at the city which was buried under even more plants than Danny remembered seeing before. "The Mind Vine enables me to control the inhabitants' every movement. Why should I burden myself with the destruction of your city when I can have its own citizens do it for me?! Once the way is cleared my children will planted and grow anew. My consciousness, my will, shall spread throughout the globe and the concrete jungle shall become the **real** jungle!"

"You can't win! If I can't stop you...t...t...then s...somebody...will..." Danny shivered again. "S...stop it..." he muttered to himself.

"Really?" Undergrowth laughed. "Then that will make it all the more ironic when I make you my new caretaker for my precious children. I can show you the ropes...or the vines, so to speak," he smiled a toothy grin.

"What?! Forget it!" the hybrid yelled, "T...there's...n...no way I'll ever..."

"You won't have a choice," the ghost told him raising his hand, commanding a branch of the Mind Vine with it.

* * *

"Alright, ANII, show me the footage," Vlad commanded with a sigh, leaning over the keyboard with both hands on it to prop himself up.

"Yes, sir," the AI answered, almost smugly.

"And don't sound so blasted happy about it!" he growled.

"Of course, sir." The AI diligently brought up the footage from his hidden cameras and showed on the few cameras he'd placed on the outer walls of Fenton Works, that the city was covered with plants. But his own cameras could show him nothing of how it happened; he hadn't any around the city itself.

"Access the street cameras...if there are any left undamaged," he ordered.

He was able to see first moments of Undergrowth emerging in the city. It showed his initial outburst and his destruction of the construction vehicles and the scaffoldings on the new buildings which he tore down mercilessly. He then preceded to take control of the inhabitants before he was accosted by Danny's friends who, of course, could do little to stop Undergrowth.

"It's pathetic," Vlad sneered, watching the people scream and flail at the vines helplessly. Considering the fact that Amity Park was besieged by so many ghosts it was shocking at how unprepared the people there were.

He watched as the two powerless teenagers were forced to retreat and barely made it back to Fenton Works without being caught by the Mind Vine. ANII brought up the much clearer footage of them rushing inside the building again and Vlad was almost about to switch the recording off in disgust when he saw Danny and Jazz emerged from the Fenton Portal.

Vlad saw Danny fly out to fight Undergrowth, quite skilfully at first, testing the ghosts' limits before the young hybrids new power once more of the better of him. The sudden use of so much of his ghost powers must have brought the new one to the fore and Danny, in his surprise, hadn't been able to control it.

"Foolish boy," the older hybrid sighed. Finally he watched as Undergrowth managed to gain control over the young hybrid with the Mind Vine.

"Sir, Daniel Fenton is now under Undergrowth's control," ANII said.

"Yes, I can see that," Vlad said as he brushed a hand through his hair. "Just...turn it off, I've seen enough...It's deplorable...All the training in the world couldn't prepare that boy for what's out there," he lamented.

"He is only a child."

"A child who thinks he's much stronger than he really is. I warned him about his overconfidence, I thought he was learning to do something about it but appears that I was wrong...A pity."

"What will you do now?" ANII asked.

"I told you, he's not my concern anymore and Amity Park is not my responsibility," he answered, resolutely.

"Then you will allow Undergrowth to start his 'empire of plants'?"

"Well...I suppose I shouldn't. It'll interfere with my own world domination plans, after all and I don't want to rule over a jungle," Vlad frowned.

"What plans are those? I have no file or record of any..."

"Shut up," Vlad glared at the hologram, "Before I unplug you again."

"Yes, sir." *1

* * *

"What the heck are we supposed to do now?!" Sam paced the length of the Fenton's' lab with an ecto-gun slung over her shoulder. "This is bad...this is really, really bad..." she muttered.

"We know..." Tucker sighed.

"Undergrowth has everyone in the town under his control and now he's got Danny!"

"If Danny couldn't stop him there's no way **we** can," the techno geek said.

"So what...we just hide down here?" Sam snapped. "Eventually, we'll run out of food and the ghost shield won't last forever. The second it goes down...we're goners."

"And if we make a run for it we won't get far," Jazz said.

"Well...we could...go through the Ghost Zone!" Tucker suggested.

"It's just as dangerous in there for us! We're allies of Danny Phantom, Y'know, the ghost they all wanna kill?!" Sam frowned. "Anyway, where would we go? The only other portal that's guaranteed to open out on Earth is Vlad's and I don't think he's gonna wanna help us."

"...Not like we've got much of a choice," Jazz sighed.

"After the stunt he's just pulled?!" the goth girl yelled, "He sent Skulker to kill your dad!"

"I know, okay!" she cried back, "I know what he did! I know...but...but he cares about Danny...I've seen it."

"There's no way he's gonna help," Sam replied as she shook her head.

"Besides, he's always spying, isn't he? Wouldn't he already know about all this?" Tucker asked.

"Maybe, maybe not..." Jazz answered, "But if he won't help...then I don't know what else to do...I don't..." she trailed off as an alarm suddenly blared out. It was a klaxon, whirling loudly with a red light to blink on and off in the room at the same time.

"Oh great," Sam sighed, "What now?"

Jazz leapt over to the main console of the Ghost Portal and stared down at the flashing warning on the small screen. "Portal under attack?" she read, confused, "But there's nothing..."

"Wait...did you guys hear that?" Tucker asked, taking a step towards the Portal, "It...sounded like..."

They suddenly heard a loud crashing nose from the other side of the Portal and all three jumped back in shock. "Like that! It sounded like that!" Tucker yelled, grabbing a Fenton Foamer with shaking hands.

"Y'don't think Undergrowth found the portal on the other side, d'you?" Sam asked them quietly.

"How would he even..." Jazz began, stopping when her phone rang in her back pocket. "Oh boy..." she sighed when she looked down at the familiar number on the screen.

"What? What's wrong?" the goth asked her.

Jazz made a concerned, nervous expression before she answered the phone and an angry voice yelled out not a millisecond later.

"**Jasmine, open this portal or so help me, I'll blast the damnable thing open**!" Vlad growled, loudly in her ear.

"...What?"

"**Open the portal**!" he yelled, his menacing voice echoing.

"...Okay, okay..." Jazz breathed, nervously as she scrambled to place her thumb on the scanner.

"Jazz, don't..." Sam cried, but it was too late, the portal was open.

* * *

The three teenagers followed Vlad in the RV as he stormed out of the building in a blaze of crackling, angry lighting, it surrounded him but whether it was an unconscious action or not, they weren't exactly sure.

"Mind Vine, three o'clock!" Sam yelled out, pointing to the approaching vine.

Jazz swung the heavy vehicle to avoid it but it followed them, swerving around to smash through the glass windscreen.

"Argh!" Tucker cried as he fumbled with the Fenton Foamer, firing at it to no avail. It shook off the attack as though it was nothing.

Before they could do anything else, a well-aimed, pink ectoplasm hit the vine and burned it to ashes in an instant which floated away in the wind, harmlessly. Jazz slammed on the brakes and all three stared in shock at the broken window and the small flecks of ash which had stuck to the bits of jagged glass that remained.

"What the..." Sam frowned, lowering her own weapon.

"You shouldn't have followed me," Vlad stated, flying down to hover in front of the vehicle. "I won't be held responsible for your safety," he warned them.

"We can look after ourselves!" the goth girl told him.

"Evidently," he rolled his eyes.

"Look, Danny is our friend. We not just gonna abandon him," she explained.

"You think he'll thank you when you're defeated?"

"We won't be!"

Vlad simply shrugged at her and took off into the air again, slicing down plants that dared to attack him as he went. Despite what he'd said, there were very few plants that got past him and he left them with little to do except to follow him.

It didn't take long for them to reach the epicentre of the jungle they now inhabited and Undergrowth seemed to grin when he saw Vlad. He paid no attention to the RV behind the hybrid as he moved closer to Vlad.

"Ah, Undergrowth, how nice to see you again," Vlad grinned back.

"Plasmius," the ghost nodded, "To what do I owe the honour of your visit?" he asked, almost sarcastically and yet still wary at the same time.

"I'm surprised to see you here at all, my friend," the hybrid remarked. "What happened to your garden sanctuary in the Ghost Zone?"

"Nothing happened to it. It is doing well. It is these mortals...they harmed my children and I heard their screams!"

"Well, rest assured, I'm not here to interfere, all I require is for you to release Danny Phantom and I shall leave," he said smoothly.

"Err...hello?! What about everyone else?!" Sam yelled from the ground.

"Yes," Vlad sneered. "...I suppose you'd better release them, too," he added, seemingly with great reluctance.

"Aren't we glad Vlad got involved?" Tucker said to Jazz, sarcastically.

"But I cannot," Undergrowth replied. "I need the flesh dwellers to plant my new empire of plants."

"...Well, that sounds wonderful," Vlad raised his eyebrow in amusement, "Truly, it does..."

"Then you consent to help as well?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Oh, but think of it! With Danny Phantom as my caretaker I am powerful, but with you in his place, I will be unstoppable!" Undergrowth exclaimed.

"You think you could control me?" Vlad laughed.

"I can control **him**," the ghost replied, moving his fingers once more.

Danny Phantom emerged from a cocoon, his limbs wrapped in vines which moved him like a puppet and his eyes were pupil-less and completely green. He raised his hands to shower blasts of ectoplasm at Vlad but older hybrid simply swatted them away easily.

"You see, I control every corner of his mind," Undergrowth grinned.

"Relinquish your hold on the boy at once!"

"Of course...once you take his place."

"I see," Vlad hissed, baring his fangs, "Then I have no choice."

"None," the ghost said simply before he wordlessly commanded the younger hybrid to attack his older counterpart again.

He moved quickly to avoid the blasts of ectoplasm and ice that came his way and he swore under his breath. "**Now** you manage to control your power," he muttered, "And you're not even in your right mind!" Vlad attacked back with weak ecto blasts but Undergrowth's plants leapt up and took the hits for him, protecting Danny from his attacks.

"Danny, snap out of it!" Sam yelled from the ground as she blasted through a large flower that had been trying to swallow her whole.

"He cannot hear you, mortal," Undergrowth told her, "His mind is mine," he said, snapping his fingers.

"Oh man," Tucker sighed as Danny took a deep breath, "Duck and cover, guys!"

Danny let out his ghostly wail at Vlad and it hit him full force, sending him reeling backward until he hit a brick wall that had been coated in layers of vines and leaves. Unfortunately, those did little to absorb the impact and Vlad felt his bones quiver. His entire body was being shocked and bombarded by the attack and he was forced to revert to his human form no matter how much he tried to fight it.

Luckily for him, the attack didn't last long and the moment that it stopped, he was able to morph back. The pain receded fairly quickly as he felt his superior healing abilities take effect now that they were free of the ghostly wail.

"He just got back up after a ghostly wail, didn't he?" Tucker asked Jazz and Sam, in shock, "Man, Danny's not gonna like that...y'know...when he's not being controlled by a plant."

"No, he's not," Jazz agreed with him, surprised to see that the older hybrid didn't even look hurt at all. The ghostly wail she knew, was Danny's most powerful attack and it had hardly done any damage to Vlad at all, sure it had slowed him down for a moment, but that was all.

Danny himself, now exhausted from using his most powerful attack, reverted to his human form but it didn't change the fact that he remained a servant to Undergrowth's will.

"What is this?" the ghost frowned, looking at the human Danny. "Why is he in human form?!" he demanded.

"He has no power left," Vlad answered him, triumphantly, and Undergrowth growled. He ordered Danny to raise his arm which commanded the plants to attack Vlad again.

While Vlad fought them off, he also began to attack the vines that bound Danny and even though his more powerful blasts were enough to burn them to cinders, more simply came to take their place. He fought them off for several minutes until three huge _brugmansias,_better known as Angel's Trumpets on earth, appeared, or rather, an even more deadly ghostly version appeared. Their earth counterpart was considered to be a most poisonous plant, but these were even more so. They were armed, like many of Undergrowth's 'children' with sharp teeth coated in venom. One of them managed to embed itself in Vlad's right forearm, tearing through his sleeve to the blue skin beneath, drawing blood.

"Gahh!" he cried out as he wrenched his arm free from the plant.

Vlad would be the first to admit that it had been his own fault; he'd been too focused on watching Danny and now he paid for it. The sharp tooth had torn from the mouth of the plant and was now lodged firmly in his arm.

"Oh, this is a surprise," Undergrowth chuckled at the sight. With a flick of his wrist, Danny was moved away, hidden from Vlad's sight again. "I wouldn't worry, Plasmius. My children's venom will not kill you; you're much too powerful for that. But surely, I've made my point. Weak as he is, there's nothing I can't order the boy to do," he said, smugly.

"Maybe not," Vlad agreed as he wrapped his hand around the tooth and pulled it out with a repressed cry. "Argh...but Daniel has little power left, and even if it were different, you still wouldn't be strong enough to stop me."

"You've never opposed my plans before," the ghost said, "Why do you want to stop me now?"

"You've never tried to take over the world before," the hybrid pointed out, "Nor have you controlled the boy before."

"Why do you care about the rest of the world?" Undergrowth asked, intrigued.

"Well, I cannot rule a world buried in plants if you're already ruling it, can I?" Vlad rolled his eyes.

"And the ghost boy?"

"...He's entertaining," the hybrid shrugged and Undergrowth laughed.

"He is indeed," the ghost nodded, moving his fingers, and thereby the vines like puppet strings. "I wasn't aware that you wanted this world, Plasmius," he added after a moment.

"Well...it puts us at odds, doesn't it?" Vlad remarked.

"Nothing personal, you understand," Undergrowth shrugged.

"Of course not," the hybrid agreed.

Within a split second Undergrowth had commanded hundreds, if not thousands of plants to swarm Vlad and bury him like one of the city's buildings and they advanced with furious roars and growls. The hybrid escaped easily, blasting his way through them with a bright flash of light that was almost white in its intensity as the vines were burned to ashes around him. With a dramatic sweep of his cape, Vlad blew the falling ashes away from him and flew directly at Undergrowth.

As he moved through the air, Vlad threw bolts of electrically charged ectoplasm down at the sea of plants below him, setting them on fire which spread along the vines, doing his work for him.

"No!" Undergrowth cried, watching his 'children' burn.

Vlad flew with bird like grace around the Mind Vine stems that now targeted him rather than the three teenagers. The brain that controlled the vines was protected within layers and layers of plants but Vlad knew that it would simply be easier to defeat Undergrowth rather than waste time and energy freeing people first. They'd be free as soon as he won the fight anyway and they were not his concern anyway.

As he got closer, Undergrowth swiped his hand at Vlad like he was ridding himself of a small fly but it went straight through the hybrid. Vlad flew intangibly straight down through the ground, right through several feet of thick ghost plants and vines until he reached the roots of the plant ghost.

They were huge, some of them were as thick as Vlad was tall and they were all lined with sharp red thorns and at for moment, they were utterly unprotected.

"This isn't personal, either," Vlad remarked before he set fire to the roots.

* * *

Above ground, Undergrowth let out a howl of fury as the plants around him began to shrivel and die, most of them vanishing into thin air after a moment. The hundreds of separate branches of the Mind Vine wilted away, leaving people on their knees, weak and dazed as they came to their senses.

Undergrowth let out one last cry of anger as the individual layers that had built him up from the roots, peeled away and died. The thick layer of vines faded away as did the foliage underneath that until there was nothing left. Undergrowth was gone and he'd left hardly any trace that he'd been there at all, as far as his jungle empire was concerned.

The city itself though had taken a lot of damage. Buildings were damaged and had gaping holes left by the plants that had taken root there, vehicles of all shapes and sizes had been left strewn all over the streets, many of them twisted and warped beyond repair.

"This is so not good," Tucker sighed, looking out at the city.

"Perhaps this will teach the people of this city to better prepare themselves for future ghost attacks," Vlad said as he appeared before them. He was hiding in the shadows, his hand clutching at his right forearm and the gaping wound there was still bleeding. The venom wasn't enough to kill him certainly, he knew that, but it would slow down his healing process and make him feel completely drained for several days. He'd fought Undergrowth before and been wounded by the venom but after a time, the weed had been forced to admit, like many in the Ghost Zone, that Plasmius had eventually become too powerful for them.

Jazz eyed the hybrid's wound and was about to speak when she heard a familiar voice not far away. It was Danny and he was pushing himself up off the ground with great effort. "Danny!" she cried, running over to him, followed by Sam and Tucker.

He was in his human form and he was as groggy and unfocused as the rest of the city's inhabitants around them. "Are you okay?" she asked the young hybrid, kneeling beside him.

"Urgh..." Danny frowned, "What happened...and why does it taste like I've been eating grass? Bleh!"

"Know what that tastes like, huh?" Jazz smiled. "I'm glad you're okay, Danny," she said, giving her brother a hug.

"Yeah...me too," he said, hugging her back for a moment.

"Hey, guys, check it out!" Tucker cried happily, riding up to them in a silver, high tech, suddenly acquired lawn tractor.

"Tucker...what're you doing? Five thousand dollars to cut someone's lawn?" Danny scoffed after reading the sign on the side of it.

"When the sun comes up, I'm'a hit the streets. All I need is one lawn and we'll be rollin' in green stuff!" he exclaimed happily.

"No thanks," the young hybrid shook his head, "I get the feeling I've already done that."

A small plant suddenly sprung up from the ground, it had little red eyes and a mouths long with pointed fingers which it used to claw its way out of the ground.

"I am regenerating!" it declared. "I will take over earth...argh..." it cried, watching in horror as Tucker mowed it down mercilessly.

"That ones' on the house," the techno geek smiled.

"Nice," Sam grinned, slapping her hand against his in a triumphant high five. He then threw her a Fenton Thermos which she used on Undergrowth's broken little body.

"So...you best him then? How'd you do it?" Danny asked them as Jazz helped him to his feet.

The three of them exchanged an uneasy glance before they turned back to Danny.

"We didn't," Jazz told him, "We couldn't."

"...But if you didn't, then who..."

"Vlad did," his sister answered, "He came here through the portal and he saved you...and everyone else."

"...Erm...really?"

"Really, dude," Tucker nodded, "But I get the feeling he would've been okay to leave everyone else."

"...Oh..." Danny breathed, shocked, "And...where...where is now?"

"What're you talking about, he's right over..." Jazz frowned, turning around to where she had last seen Vlad. "...There..." she stopped when they saw that he was gone. Only a small trace of ectoplasmic blood remained on the ground where he'd been standing.

* * *

*1 I'm pretty sure that Vlad doesn't start his world domination plans until after he becomes the mayor, specifically after the episode with the Infi Map.


	23. Danny's Business Proposition

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 23: Danny's Business Proposition**

* * *

After Vlad returned to his castle he set about cleaning the gaping hole in his right forearm and he bandaged it as best as he could. The venom would be purged from his system in a few days without any conscious effort from Vlad himself, until then he'd simply feel tired, very tired, or more tired than he already felt not having slept for over 24 hours. But the poisons was making itself known in more ways than one. On his pale forearm, Vlad saw it spreading through his veins, turning them black as it fought against his immune system. He wasn't worried. It wouldn't kill him.

The wound itself would heal slowly even after the venom was gone simply because it was made with the tooth of a ghostly Angel's Trumpet and there was simply nothing he could do about it, no matter how much it irked him. The very tooth that had pierced his flesh had been thrown in his annoyance across one of the work surfaces in the lab and with a curse at his own stupidity, Vlad floated up through into the sitting room. Luckily the sleeve of his white shirt hid the bandage but Vlad doubted that he'd be doing much of anything with his right arm for a while, at least nothing strenuous. It would be easy enough to hide, he was ambidextrous so he'd be able to write and if necessary, fight with his left hand as well as his right.

Truth be told, Vlad wasn't entirely sure why he'd chosen to help Danny and the people of Amity Park so easily anyway. The younger hybrid had proven that even though he had begun to trust and even like Vlad, that his loyalties would forever lie with his father. What more was there to do? He'd been patient and he'd tried to be understanding, he'd even helped the boy to understand his powers better but it hadn't been enough. It was never enough. Danny would always choose Jack over him no matter what he did and in proving that he'd only made it worse for himself.

Whatever the outcome, the action had been necessary. Vlad needed to remind himself of who he was and what it was that he needed. He had been losing himself in the children's antics and his revenge had seemed less important for a while. But that wasn't to be. It couldn't be. He'd never spoken so openly about his revenge to anyone before and it had come as a shock that Danny and Jazz had actually listened to him. Of course they didn't understand and it had only served, in Vlad's mind, to wrestle his hard won control of life away from him. After everything he'd been through, he needed to be in control. Revenge had been his way of making sure that he was, so it simply wasn't possible for him to change that.

At least it would put an end to the ambiguity that had begun to settle between them in the last week. It had gotten ridiculous really, Daniel had actually begun to trust him. It was laughable. Vlad was not a trustworthy person, he knew that, it was better for the boy to learn that. If he hadn't managed to kill Jack, at least he'd done something useful. He'd gotten his sense of control back as well, ludicrous as that sounded since his plan had failed, it still proved him to be capable of chasing his vengeance which meant that it would one day be realised.

Vlad sighed as he settled into an armchair with a folder of work. It was still much too early for anyone else to be awake in the castle so he set about reading through his folder of papers and watching the room get steadily brighter as the sun rose.

* * *

Danny hovered uneasily with his sister in front of Vlad's portal, unsure as to whether or not he should go through it.

While it was true that Vlad had done a good deed, Danny had no idea why the man had done it. He couldn't disregard everything that had happened in the last week but neither could he ignore the fact that Vlad had sent Skulker to kill Jack Fenton. It was perhaps unusual that if Vlad wanted the man gone so badly, that he hadn't simply gone and dealt with it himself. Had it only been a means of trying to gain back a semblance of control when he'd felt everything slipping through his fingers? Did his revenge mean that much to him that he could so easily ignore the progress that they had made?

"We can't just let him off the hook," Danny remarked angrily. "I know he just saved us and I know he got hurt doing it, but that doesn't mean we have to forgive him for trying to kill dad!"

"You think I've forgiven him?" Jazz asked, rhetorically.

"No," her brother grumbled, "...Look...I'm just confused. If we go back it'll look like we have and even if we do…what's that make us? Does it mean we don't care about dad?"

"Of course it doesn't."

"But he'll think it's okay to do it again! And next time he might actually..." Danny trailed off.

"You said you didn't want things to go back to how they were," Jazz remarked.

"I don't, but if they do it won't be my fault. I'm not the one guilty of attempted murder...Man, I thought things were messed up before, now it's even worse."

* * *

At some point, still before it was time for breakfast, Vlad had fallen asleep, courtesy of the effects of the venom, he supposed, and it was his internal ghost sense that woke him. It alerted him that there was a very familiar ecto-signature in the room and his eyes snapped open as he sat up in his chair, the folder and all of its papers falling from his lap as he moved.

"What are you doing here?" the hybrid asked but he got no answer from the two silent teenagers. "I locked the portal, how did you get through it?" he spoke again.

"...ANII opened it," Danny answered. He was stood beside his sister in his ghost form, clearly not intending to change back in case there was a fight. Already exhausted from using his ghostly wail earlier, he knew that even if there was, he wouldn't be of much use. Danny was all but asleep on his feet.

"Ah," the older hybrid gave a slight nod, "I see."

Vlad stood up and knelt down to pick up his papers, he shuffled them on the floor gently and placed them back into the folder, then he went to lift it in his hand as he rose. Of course, he'd forgotten that his right forearm was damaged and the sudden strain on his wounded muscles sent a shot of agony through his arm. The folder fell back to the floor and Vlad couldn't repress a grimace of pain, "Curses," he ground out, clutching at the wound, gently.

"I did that, didn't I?" Danny asked him.

"I don't know what you're talking about, now go away..." the older hybrid snapped as he stood up, taking the folder in in left hand now and placing it on a wooden coffee table.

"I remember it all, well, most of it...I didn't at first, but I do now. I did that when I...when I told the plants to kill you…when Undergrowth told me to tell them to...That voice was so loud. I couldn't **not** listen to it. I tried but..."

"You don't need to explain yourself," Vlad said, "You wanted revenge, I understand. I'd just attempted to murder your father. You were more than entitled to..."

"Whoa, whoa, wait! I don't do it for 'revenge.' I didn't even want to do it! But it..."

"You can't lie to me, Daniel. You want to hurt me for what I've done, so don't lie to me about it and don't lie to yourself."

"...Yeah...okay, whatever, but I won't actually do it. I didn't have any control over what happened in that fight and maybe it was my own stupid fault for running off after Undergrowth without a proper plan or whatever, but I never meant for...this...to happen. I was just so angry and I..."

"'This' is what we're meant to be, whether you are in your right mind or not. We are enemies, Daniel. We're polar opposites of each other. We were never meant to get along at all."

"...I don't want to be enemies," Danny admitted.

"Well, unless you have suddenly developed the ability to look past my murderous tendencies towards your father, that's what we are," Vlad snapped, pedantically.

"I defended you when Jazz said it was you, I honestly thought you wouldn't have done it!"

"That is your problem, not mine."

"Gah!" Danny exclaimed in frustration, threading a hand through his hair as he began to pace. "Why'd you even save me?! I don't get it!" he cried.

"Who says I did it for you?" Vlad shrugged, "All egotistical villains have world domination plans, don't they? I can't rule a world that's riddled with a ghost jungle."

"You want to rule the world?" Jazz asked in disbelief.

"Why not?"

"You've had lots of different schemes, Vlad, but ruling the world was never one of them," she replied.

"You can say that for certain, can you?"

"Seriously, no more games, no more lies. Just tell me the truth," Danny snapped quickly, stopping his pacing as he floated over the older hybrid. "Why'd you save me? Why'd you save Amity Park?"

"...I...have my reasons," the man answered, evasively.

"Y'know, most people'd wanna kick your ass after what you did," the boy pointed out, annoyed at Vlad's evasive replies.

"And you are one of them."

"But I'm not actually gonna try and..."

"Because you can't," Vlad scoffed.

"Because it wouldn't be right," Danny ground out, correcting him.

"Oh, please," the older hybrid rolled his eyes.

"I'm trying **really** hard here, Vlad..."

"You're not trying enough!" Vlad exclaimed. "You're a fool, boy! You're an overconfident child and to you, fighting ghosts is a game. You don't have the luxury of looking at it as a game, you don't have the power to back up that assumption! Undergrowth is merely the latest in a long lines of ghosts that have proven you to be weak!"

"I'm not weak!"

"No? It didn't take five minutes for Undergrowth to gain control over you! Do you realise what he could have done with you at his command? He could command you to do anything he wanted. He could order you to kill your friends and destroy what was left of your beloved backwater city and you would've have no chance of refusing him!"

"I know that now! But I tried..."

"Not even I could fight his Mind Vine if I was under its control. I'm sure even Pariah Dark would find it equally impossible."

"I didn't know about that! That stupid plant took over my town, I was only trying to protect people! I never asked you to get involved!"

"You left me no choice, I had to intervene," Vlad declared, haughtily.

"Why?! Why bother? It's not like you did it because you care about Sam or Tucker or Jazz or anyone else."

"I didn't do it for them and I certainly didn't act because I felt like playing 'hero' to Amity Park," Vlad sneered.

"Then why..."

"He dared to control you after I specifically warned them all not to do you any lasting harm. You make it so easy for them to forget that and there's only so much I can do. I could hardly allow him to..."

"So, you only did it because he did something you told him not to do?" Danny clarified in disappointment.

"You brainless boy, you truly are your father's son. Must I spell it out for you?! Even if it means protecting you from your own stupidity I will do it. We may not always see eye to eye but that doesn't mean I want to see you dead!" Vlad yelled before he could stop himself.

He instantly reasoned his slip to be a result of an overly tired mind, the venom that was coursing through his veins and of course, the somewhat crippling agony of having a gaping hole in his arm. But Danny didn't know about any of that so he suddenly deemed it necessary to explain it. "...Forget I said anything," Vlad shook his head quickly as he spoke. "I'm tired, I need to sleep...There was venom in the..." he held up his arm for a moment to clarify what he meant.

What he failed to notice was that when he strained the wound only minutes ago, it had started bleeding again and it had seeped through both the bandage and his sleeve. Danny and Jazz saw it though but they said nothing as he continued. "It's addled my mind and I'll admit that having a hole punched through muscle and blood vessels is rather painful even by my standards."

In fact, it was impossible to keep the limb from shaking now that the adrenaline from the fight had worn off and at least in his sleep earlier he hadn't noticed it as much. Even shouting at Danny had served to take his mind off it for a few minutes, now there was absolutely nothing to distract him. Vlad stopped for a moment and stared down at his shaking hand in shock, he didn't understand why he couldn't control it. He was no stranger to pain but perhaps after so many years of having superior healing abilities, he'd grown too dependent on them. He let out a disbelieving scoff and removed the gold cufflink so that he could gently roll back his stained sleeve to expose the bloodied bandage beneath.

"...Why hasn't it healed?" Danny asked quietly, watching the older hybrid slowly unwind the bandage.

"There's certain plants...ghost plants..." Vlad whispered, wincing when he saw that some of the bandage was stuck to the open wound. "Some of them can speed healing and others can hinder it. I was unfortunate enough to be wounded by the latter," he said.

"The big...orange and yellow thing...with teeth?"

"Angel's Trumpets, they're called...well, they're called that on earth. I don't know if Undergrowth has his own name for them. The venom would kill a human from either plant but for me it's simply an annoyance," he explained.

Vlad had managed to carefully remove the bandage now and he incinerated the useless fabric in his left hand without taking his eyes off the wound.

"That looks...nasty," Danny said with an upturn of his lip.

"Thank you for that analysis, Daniel," Vlad sighed, cupping his right wrist with his left hand in an attempt to steady the shaking limb. "Why are you still here?" he turned to them after a moment, "Are you checking to see whether I really was wounded...well, as you can see, I..."

"I don't even know why we're here...but that's not it. We shouldn't be...not after what you did," the young hybrid answered, trying to stay calm.

"Then leave," he replied, before he floated through into the kitchen.

Vlad used a shaking hand to unravel a clean bandage from his pocket and threw it onto a mostly empty worktop surface before he set about cleaning the wound again. The bleeding seemed never ending and he'd forgotten just how much blood one tended to lose from such an injury. With the air of a man who knew exactly what he was doing, he ran some cold water and cursed under his breath when it stung his forearm, washing the blood down the sink. The cold served to take his mind off the pain slightly as it poured over his shaking limb.

"I thought I told you to leave," he sighed without turning around. He'd sensed Danny following him and now he knew that they younger hybrid was standing behind him, presumably with his sister, but Vlad didn't bother to check. "But if you want to attack me, I suggest you get it over with now...I won't stop you," he remarked.

"I'm not gonna attack you," Danny grumbled.

"No? Perhaps you're right, you did enough of that earlier."

"Yeah...look..." Danny took a deep breath, "I can't just forget what you did...what you **tried** to do...but...thank you...for stopping Undergrowth and...for saving my life."

"I hardly saved your..."

"Vlad," the young hybrid sighed dramatically, his patience now wearing thin.

Vlad looked up from the still bleeding injury and regarded Danny with nothing short of complete astonishment and confusion. He turned off the tap and floated a towel across to himself which he wrapped around his forearm in an attempt to stop the blood flow.

He'd expected the boy explode, to attack or to shout at him at the very least, not to stand there thanking him for a good deed he wasn't even sure why he'd committed in the first place. Had it even been meant as a good deed? Vlad couldn't say for sure so he didn't see why the teenager in front of him would see it that way.

"...You're welcome," the man said simply, without a hint of his former sarcasm. "But I hope you don't expect an apology regarding the...other matter," he added.

"You mean the **attempted murder**," Danny emphasised.

"Yes, that," Vlad nodded as he raised the towel from his arm. He saw that the bleeding had slowed a little, but it hadn't yet stopped.

"Everything was going so well, why'd you have to do it?"

"...What would you have done if I'd succeeded? I doubt you'd be standing here if I had," Vlad said, not answering Danny's question.

"So do I," Danny said.

"As it is, you were extremely lucky, Skulker's idiocy worked in your father's favour," Vlad shrugged.

"...But you won't make that mistake again?" Jazz asked.

"No."

"But you already did," Danny replied, "You sent those stupid vultures before...and you had to have known that they're...y'know..."

"Idiots?" Vlad raised an eyebrow, "Yes, of course I knew. I've always known."

"And Skulker?" Jazz questioned.

"Skulker...has his uses. Despite the fact that he claims to be the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter he's actually a far better tracker. He always was."

"Doesn't matter. You didn't have to do it," Danny said, staring at Vlad, "No one made you. You had a choice...and you chose to be a murderer. So what if it didn't work, you didn't know it wouldn't. You let us think everything was okay, that things were getting better while we sat and watched a play while you tried to kill our dad. You've done some really bad things...but this..."

"...Definitely one of the more callous, wouldn't you say?" Vlad gave him a rueful smile which faded quickly, "I think I rather outdid myself."

"You're...proud of it?" Jazz frowned.

"Of course not...it failed. Do you think I want to be a slave to my revenge for the rest of my life? I want him gone so that I can finally put what happened behind me."

"Your dad did way worse things to you than he did but you're not trying to kill **him**!" Danny exclaimed before he could stop himself. Even his sister shot him a reproachful look when he'd finished.

Vlad said nothing as he more or less fell back, so that the cupboards behind him were propping him upright. He knew that Danny was right, his point was more than valid. Did he want his father gone, dead? Of course he did. The man had humiliated him, brutalised him when he had been at his most vulnerable. When a child should have been able to look up to a father for guidance, he had often been too afraid to return home to even look Vladislav in the eye, let alone ask him for help. But he'd never once tried to rid himself of his father's presence like he had Jack's. Not once.

By the logic he'd just explained, he needed his father gone too or he'd never be able to forget what happened. Vlad thought he had, but then along came Clockwork with his 'grand plan' and ruined everything. Now it was all too easy to remember it all and it was happening far too often. There were flashbacks, vivid ones, so vivid that he wasn't only recalling sights and sounds, Vlad was remembering everything in extraordinary detail including the pain he'd felt which made it seem as though he were suffering his injuries all over again. He'd suffered from flashbacks, mainly in his dreams, as a young man when he'd left home and then as an adult he'd had the odd one but they had been easy to ignore when he could bury himself in his work.

"...That's...true," Vlad said after taking a few, quiet deep breaths.

"I didn't...I shouldn't have..." Danny stammered.

"You meant it," the older hybrid said simply, letting out a shaky exhale through his nose as he shivered. "...And why not...it's true...I hate them both...but I can't...I'll never be rid of them, will I? Even if I...even if they were gone...they'd still be in here," he tapped a frantic finger against the side of his forehead. "Everything they did...it'll never go away," he said.

"What are those?" Jazz asked, startling Vlad. She hoped to take his mind off the horrid memories that were clearly acting as the precursor of another panic attack.

"Hmmm?" he hummed.

"Those...black veins..." she pointed to the hybrids' wound.

"Oh...it's...it's the...the venom," Vlad answered, looking down at his forearm, "It'll go away."

"...You're sure it won't kill you?" Danny asked.

"I'm sure," he answered, "So...if you want me gone, you'll have to do it yourself."

"What?" the young hybrid snapped. "Why'd you think I'd do that? I'd never...I wouldn't...I'm not like you, okay?! What you did was wrong, really, really wrong and I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive you for it. But..."

"Then why not attack me now? I don't understand you at all. You want revenge for what I did and I am standing here telling you I won't stop you...and yet you do nothing...I don't understand," Vlad sighed, burying his face in his left hand while his right hung limply at his side.

Vlad slid down against the cupboards so that he was sitting on the floor with one leg outstretched and the other bent slightly with his elbow propped on it.

"Do you...d'you want me to attack you that much?" Danny asked after a moment.

"What?"

"Well, you keep saying I should," he shrugged, "It's like you want me to attack."

"It would be easier to deal with than this...attempt at calm civility," Vlad admitted, "At least I understand violence."

"If I did, would you really...not fight back...at all?"

"...It's not in my nature to be passive...but I'm tired," the older hybrid said, closing his eyes. He really was exceedingly tired.

Perhaps it was just the venom which was taking all of his strength but Vlad was bone weary. He felt like he could sleep for a week and it wouldn't be nearly enough. Thinking of nothing but revenge was a tiring act in and of itself but it was all that had sustained him for so long and here came an opportunity to do something different, a chance to focus on something else, but it was throwing his whole life into chaos. Was he wrong to revert back to his old ways when it was all he had known for so long? He needed something to help define who he was. He couldn't simply throw away his hate because what would it leave if he did? Would there be anything left at all beneath it?

Vlad winced and clutched at his arm, hissing as a branch of the venom spread through one of his veins, clawing its way up to his elbow now. "Even if I wanted it all to be different...I don't know how to be anything else...I don't know why I'm trying to explain myself to you...either of you. You don't care and I doubt you understand," he muttered.

"...Well, I...erm...should it be doing that?" Danny furrowed his brow at the black veins.

"Does it matter?" Vlad scoffed back.

"'Course it does!"

"Stop trying to change the subject," the older hybrid said.

"I'm not, I'm just..."

"Liar."

"Knock it off!" Danny yelled, his hands glowing green.

"Go on then...get it over with," Vlad sighed, resignedly.

"Huh?"

Vlad blinked his eyes across to stare pointedly at the ectoplasm in Danny's hands before he closed them again, not saying a word. "Are you serious?" the young hybrid snapped. "What's it gonna take for you to realise that I'm not going to attack you?! You could stop me easily if I did anyway!"

"It'll make us even," Vlad replied.

"'Even'?" Danny repeated, the ectoplasm fading away, harmlessly in his confusion.

"In our petty little game of quid pro quo."

"Quid what'a?"

"Stop parroting everything I say," the older hybrid said, tiredly.

"But, I don't..." the boy spoke but he trailed off, realising that Vlad wasn't believing a word that he said. So, he morphed back to his human form, hoping that it would be enough to convince the older hybrid that, angry as he was, he wasn't planning on attacking. "There, look, I'm human, see? No attacking, no getting 'even', no quid...whatever it is," he said.

"So I see," Vlad replied.

"You believe me now?"

"I suppose so."

"Good," Danny exhaled in relief.

Vlad raised an eyebrow but said nothing as he looked down at the wound again. It had mostly stopped bleeding and he gently wiped away the stray blood with the towel. "Y'want a hand with that?" the boy asked him. Without waiting for an answer, he retrieved the bandage that Vlad had tossed onto the counter tops and knelt down beside the older hybrid. "Well, gimme your arm, then," he sighed.

After a moment, Vlad held out his right arm so that Danny could begin to gently, and skilfully, wrap the bandage around the wound. Vlad didn't bother to ask where the boy had gotten that particular skill since it was fairly evident in the life that he led.

"Stop staring at me," Danny snapped.

"...You're a very confusing child," Vlad stated.

"Huh, 'confusing', never heard that one before," the young hybrid remarked as he tucked the edge of the bandage underneath the rest of it as gently as he could. "There, done," he announced, leaning back.

Vlad inclined his head, grateful but still confused. He slowly lowered his sleeve back over the bandaged injury and preceded to incinerate the bloodied towel as he had done his previous bandage. It was wise not to leave any trace of his irregular blood lying around, he'd learned that it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Never seen you get hurt before...not like that," Danny muttered.

"Yes, you have," Vlad breathed quietly, "But not from any ghost."

"Oh...I didn't mean...that."

"So...you don't intend to attack me, Daniel?" the older hybrid asked. "What do you plan to do, then? Regardless of my reasons or whatever truce we seem to have had, you can't deny that you can't simply overlook what I did."

"No," he agreed.

"And in no way can I say that it won't happen again," Vlad added.

Danny sighed and stood up, ignoring his own lethargy as he did so. "Then...I guess...it's best if we go back home," he said.

"Then why come at all? You know I could never promise such a thing."

"I told you, I don't know! I like hanging out with you, I do, and I actually like talking to you, but there's no way I can do that anymore. We've tried, we really have...me and Jazz...most people wouldn't have bothered...but then you...you ruined it!"

"So you expected me to...what? Set aside my revenge and forget?" Vlad scoffed, "Impossible."

"Why?" Danny demanded.

"You know why," the older hybrid said, shaking his head. He slowly pushed himself up from the ground and laid a steadying left hand on the work surface by the sink, clutching at it with pale fingers. "And I refuse to repeat myself," he finished.

"...Well, what if you just...left it for a week?" he spoke tentatively. "You said we had a truce, right? No more revenge...for a week...and we'll stay."

"And after the next week is over?"

"I...don't know," Danny said, "I guess...I guess that's up to you."

"Hmmm," Vlad hummed.

Danny was nervous as he watched the older hybrid mull the idea over in his head. He was astonished that the boy had thought of such an idea let alone asked it aloud. Hadn't Vlad already proven that he was untrustworthy?

"You realise that your plan hinges on the idea that I want you to stay?" the older hybrid glanced down at him.

"Yeah."

"And you think I care enough that it makes a suitable threat?"

"...Yeah, I do," Danny admitted.

"...Very well," Vlad sighed heavily, "I will...consider it. But for now I need to sleep," he said. He finally broke eye contact with Danny by closing his own pale blue eyes and transported himself in a blur of ghostly smoke up to his bedroom. Perhaps not the best idea when he was so tired, but he honestly didn't think he could walk the distance without falling asleep.


	24. A Spanner In The Works

**Different Effects of the Past **

**Chapter 24: A Spanner in the Works**

* * *

Side by side, Danny and Jazz walked through the castle, taking each step up to the first floor with careful slowness in every movement. Danny yawned and stopped for a moment with one hand clutching the banister and the other over his mouth.

"You really should get some sleep," Jazz told him.

"You're kidding," he scoffed, "There's no way I'm gonna get any sleep...and it's nearly time for breakfast anyway."

"But you're exhausted," she replied.

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean I can actually fall asleep. D'you think I've caught Vlad's stupid insomnia? Can you even catch insomnia?"

Jazz rolled her eyes before she asked, "You can't stop thinking about he said, can you?"

"No...I can't stop thinking about what **I** said," he corrected her. "I just asked the guy to call a truce after he tried to kill dad! What the heck was I thinking?! Am I nuts?!"

"I think it was a brave thing to do," she shrugged.

"...Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"And you're...okay with it?"

"I guess that depends on Vlad's answer. He...cares...about you more than he does for me, if that's the right word...so if he throws away the chance you've given him, I'll be disappointed...for you."

"Don't even know why I did it," Danny muttered, "I'm an idiot."

"You know you're not," Jazz said in a long suffering tone, "And I know you want him to listen to you."

"The guy's just so darn stubborn!"

"I wonder who that reminds me of," she gave him a small smile.

"Hmmm...I can't think of anyone," Danny replied sarcastically. "I **do** want him to listen...and I meant what I said...but I don't think it's right that we just forgive him like it never happened. I know he can live without his revenge, he admitted it before...or, he did in the future, but that was twenty years in the future...and he had his ghost powers taken away...but you get the idea."

"You want to help him?" Jazz summarised.

"...Yeah, I guess I do," he frowned, surprised at himself, "It'd make it easier if could actually tell him about the whole...future...thing, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"You're kidding, right? That'd be like the worst idea in the history of bad ideas!"

"It's your call," she held up her hands, placatingly.

* * *

Unlike Danny, Vlad surprisingly had no trouble in actually falling asleep this time but that didn't mean that he was able to rest without interruption. The very second he had collapsed onto his bed he had begun to dream fitfully and his pupils moved sporadically beneath his eyelids. He was breathing unevenly as he moved, muttering incoherent words through pale lips while his head moved from side to side, alternating from burying into the soft pillow and facing up at the ceiling.

As far as dreams went, this was an unusual one even for him.

* * *

_Vlad Plasmius was standing over Jack's lifeless body. The orange jumpsuit clad ghost hunter was lying in a pool of his own blood which saturated the ground at Vlad's feet. Despite the fact that he finally had gotten what he wanted, he felt strangely hollow. He didn't really feel euphoric, or triumphant, or victorious__. He felt...nothing. __Like the black, formless void that surrounded him, Vlad felt just as empty and he didn't understand it. _

_"Dad!" a familiar voice cried and in ran Daniel Fenton. The boy knelt beside his dead father and tried in vain to wake him but he only covered himself in blood as he moved. "Dad, wake up...please..." he wept._

_"He's gone," Vlad informed him, "He won't wake up...he's gone." _

_"You...you killed him?!" Danny accused him, looking across to see the blood on Vlad's gloves._

_"Yes...I killed him. I killed Jack Fenton," the older hybrid breathed in disbelief._

_"Was it worth it, Vlad?" Jazz asked as she too emerged from the shadows. She was crying just like her brother and she walked to stand beside Danny. "Do you feel free from your revenge...or do you feel like Edmond Dantes?"_

_"I feel...empty," he answered truthfully with a deep set furrow in his pale blue brow. _

_"So our dad died for nothing," she stated calmly, reminding Vlad strongly of Maddie. Her daughter displayed the same grace and poise on occasion, as she did, but then even she had some of her father's traits. _

_"No, he died so that I...so that I...It can't have been for nothing. It can't," Vlad protested. _

_"Why not?" Jazz asked sadly. _

_"You killed him for your stupid revenge!" Danny yelled, morphing into his ghost half, "He's gone because of you and I'll never forgive you! I'll make sure we get **our** revenge!" _

_"Daniel..." _

_"My name is Danny Phantom," the boy growled, his hands igniting with ectoplasm, "And I hate you!" _

_"But I..." Vlad took slow, uneasy steps back. After a second, he collided with someone behind him and he spun around to find his mother standing there with Valya at her side. Viktoria was hiding behind her mother, her expression one of pure terror as she stared at him and for some reason, the thought of the little girl being afraid of him didn't sit well with Vlad at all. _

_"I'm very disappointed in you, my son," Rosalyn Masters said, "You've made a lot of mistakes...but I never thought you'd resort to murder. I suppose...in the end you really are your father's son." _

_"I'm nothing like..." _

_"You are just like him," Alexei agreed with Rosalyn, coming to stand beside her and his daughter, "You are a monster. You do not deserve to live." _

_"You don't understand what he did to me! Jack Fenton deserved to die!" Vlad yelled, choosing not to question just how they knew it was him when he was in his ghost form. Dreams never had to make sense, after all. _

_"Do his children deserve to lose their loving father?" Rosalyn frowned at him. _

_"That's not..." _

_"Does his wife deserve to be made a widow?" _

_"Maddie will..." _

_"Vlad," Maddie herself sighed as she formed from nothing, kneeling beside her dead husband. "He was your friend...we both were. How were we supposed to know that you were...the way you are...when you never told us?"_

_"How could I?" Vlad growled. "He did this to me! He drove me to it! His stupidity drove me mad with revenge! And my love for you..." _

_"You're a monster, Vlad, you're incapable of love." _

_"Of course I'm not, I'm still hu..." _

_"Human?" she scoffed. "What kind of 'human' would do this?" Maddie asked, staring down at Jack again. _

_"...A desperate one," he answered after a moment, "I had no choice." _

_"You're wrong," Maddie replied._

_"You killed my dad, so now I'm gonna__ kill you," Danny rounded on him again. _

_"You? You're no killer, Daniel," Vlad scoffed, incredulously. _

_"I didn't think you were either...but I guess we're both wrong. You got your revenge...now I get mine...Goodbye, Plasmius..." __he said, letting out his ghostly wail at the older hybrid._

* * *

Vlad's eyes snapped open and he sat upright in his bed, breathing heavily in shock. Like most of his dreams, it had seemed so real, so vivid. He glanced at his hands, holding them out in front of him but to his delight, and rather more worrying simultaneous disappointment, they were clean rather than stained with Jack Fenton's blood.

It was strange, he'd never had a dream where he'd been berated by figments of his own imagination for a murder he hadn't yet committed. While it was no surprise that he was dreaming about it, it came as more of a shock that there had been other people in the dream and that their disapproval had mattered to him. He didn't want his mother to think that he was just like his father. He didn't want Daniel to hate him. Nor did he want his uncle to wish him dead. He hadn't even wanted to see Viktoria hiding from him in fear, but she had.

Logically, Vlad knew he couldn't have everything but there had never before been anything to choose between. There hadn't been anyone in his life for so long now and he'd gotten used to the idea of ignoring people's opinions. They had never mattered so why should he care? But now, for some reason, he did care. Now there was a strange kind of choice developing. It was a choice between having these people, his family, despise him if he got his revenge, or not ever getting his revenge and giving them no reason to hate him. Which was more important? It didn't make sense how things could change so quickly.

When he sighed and glanced over at the clock, Vlad saw it was still early morning, in fact it was breakfast time. Had he really only been sleeping for just over an hour? He didn't think he could stomach any food but Vlad knew he wouldn't be getting any more sleep for a while, not after that dream.

The black veins had spread a little more from the wound so that now there were traces of it on his palm as well as his wrist. He solved the problem by simply using a larger bandage and wrapping it from his elbow to his palm after a quick shower. Unfortunately, that meant that it wouldn't all be hidden by his shirt sleeve and people would see the part of the bandage that bound his palm leaving his thumb exposed. If he was lucky, he might be able to hide it and avoid any questions.

* * *

At the same time, breakfast was served to all except Vlad in the dining room and a tired Danny picked at his food with his elaborate silver fork. He couldn't believe that he was sitting at the table across from Vlad's family as though nothing had happened. To them, none of the early morning's ghost fight **had** happened and he doubted that they knew anything about Vlad's murder attempt either. Perhaps it was better that way though. They seemed to be good for Vlad and if they knew they understandably, would want to push him away.

"What is wrong?" Vikki asked him, "You do not like the food?"

"No, the...the food's great," he replied, taking a large mouthful of food from his fork and swallowing it all. It really was good food, but this was one time in his life where food just wasn't all that important. "I'm fine, really," he assured the girl.

"But you look..." she began, stopping when she heard a loud crash coming from the front door.

"Vladimir?!" a loud voice called out. It was followed by the sound of clipped footsteps in the tiled floor of the foyer.

"Oh, great," Danny sighed. "Just what we need right now, a big, angry Russian idiot," he muttered, quietly enough that only his sister and Vikki who sat on either side of him, would hear.

"You do not like him either?" Vikki chortled.

"No, I don't," he answered, honestly, and quietly.

"Good," she nodded. "He scares me," she confessed.

Vladislav stormed into the room and glanced at each person sat around the table with a disinterested expression as though they were not worthy of his interest at all.

"He is not here," the man observed. "Where is he? Well?!" he demanded when no one answered him.

"You are not welcome here," Alexei replied coldly, "Vladimir would agree...so you should go."

"I'm not going anywhere until I see my son," the older man hissed.

"Something tells me that he won't want to see you," Rosalyn said.

"Well, I think he..."

"I am fully capable of speaking for myself," Vlad said as he walked into the room. He held his right hand so that it was hidden behind his back, the last thing he needed to do was show weakness in front of his father. However, Vlad should have known better, his father had always been able to see right through him and as the hybrid sat down at the head of the table, Vladislav managed to catch a glimpse of the bandage before Vlad hid it again.

"What happened to your arm?" he asked.

"Nothing," Vlad lied smoothly, "Just a sprain."

"Hmmm."

"So, what do you want this time?" Vlad asked, "Another shouting match?" he raised an eyebrow.

"**I** never want to shout," his father replied with a smile, "It is your fault, you make me angry always on purpose."

"Of course I do," Vlad said quickly, sending a sharp glance at his mother. She'd clearly intended to object but he stopped her before she had the chance, "It's always my fault," he added.

"I am glad you agree."

Danny frowned, confused at Vlad's passive attitude but he saw that everyone else at the table seemed just as surprised as he did. "You will not offer me a place at your table?" Vladislav asked.

"I'm not in the habit of dining with pigs," Vlad shot back and watched as Danny was unable to hold back a rather undignified snort behind his hand. The boy tried to conceal it as a cough but he was rather unsuccessful.

Vladislav himself didn't seem at all amused at his son's remark and his face contorted into a mask of intimidating disapproval and fury. He narrowed his eyes at his son, but Vlad didn't seem at all intimidated, instead, he watched as a plate of food was brought in and laid in front of him on the table. "Thank you," he said politely. "Are you still here?" Vlad turned his attention back to his father.

As much as he wanted to shout and scream at the old man, Vlad knew it would achieve nothing. Exhausted as he was, he doubted that he could last long in one of their draining shouting matches and perhaps this way, his father would leave. After all, Vladislav seemed to delight in making him angry, if he didn't show any anger, what would his father do then?

"It's very clever, but it won't work, you know," the old man told him.

"Oh?"

"You're angry and you're trying to hide it..."

"I don't have the patience for your games, today. You know where the door is," Vlad said, "I suggest you show yourself out."

"And if I don't?"

"Then you're welcome to stand there and be ignored...Anything you choose to break or damage to get my attention will be replaced. I will not have any food or drink served to you. Every room in this building will be off limits to you. I will order my staff to ignore you completely. **I** will not acknowledge your presence even if you were to require medical attention...Does that sound familiar?" Vlad tilted his head lightly.

Vladislav grinned at him and let out a dark chuckle, "Oh, it sounds very familiar. You even have it memorised...very impressive."

"Yes," Vlad nodded. "Now, please," he said, glancing from his plate of food to the door and back again.

"I am not going anywhere," the old man replied stubbornly before he sat down at the table.

"You are not staying here."

"I think I am."

"...Then I'm not," Vlad replied after a moment and then he stood up, his chair almost toppling over behind him in his haste.

"Not so fast," his father carefully and menacingly pronounced each word with his heavy accent as he grabbed hold of Vlad's wounded forearm when he walked past.

Vlad was forced to stop when the older man began to apply pressure to the wound and he did his best to hold back his protests but Vladislav had seen it. "Looks like that's more than a little sprain," he remarked with a smile and tightened his pale fingers.

"Let go of me," Vlad hissed at him. He tried to wrench his arm free from his father's grip but every movement was sending spikes of agony through his body as he jostled the open wound which had started to bleed again. Vlad began to despair that it would ever have the chance to heal properly, he'd forgotten just how slowly normal people tended to recover from their injuries.

What he hadn't forgotten though, was just how terrifying his father was and it didn't seem likely that he'd ever get the opportunity now.

"No," Vladislav replied coldly.

"Vladislav, stop this..." Alexei began, standing up and storming over to him.

"Or what?" the older Russian glared, unafraid.

"There is no 'or what'," Vlad's uncle replied as he forcibly wrenched the pale fingers from his nephew's forearm.

With a disapproving frown, Vladislav snatched his arm free and saw that his fingers were now covered in his son's blood and he tried to shake it off in disgust. "I had heard you were wounded. Who..." he began to ask.

"How can you possibly have known that?!" Vlad demanded, cradling his arm gently. His voice shook slightly and it made his father laugh.

"I'll tell you...if you say 'please'," the man replied, smugly.

"No," Vlad hissed.

"Then you'll never know," he shrugged.

"Someone in my castle is working for you," his son deduced, "Aren't they?"

Vladislav's smirk didn't falter at all as he continued to stare at Vlad, "You've no way of knowing for sure," he replied.

"Oh, but I do. You can't have the place bugged, so that's the only explanation left."

"It could be one person, or more...or none."

"You didn't tell him did you?" Vlad turned to his mother.

"I didn't even know you were hurt, Vlad, none of us did," she answered calmly. "And speaking of..."

"So what do you do at night that means you get hurt?" Vladislav asked. "It is not more midnight bar fights, is it? You know how embarrassing that is for the family."

"Your 'spy' can't tell you everything then," Vlad scoffed.

"They will...eventually," the old man replied simply before he stood up.

"Not if I find them."

"Good luck," Vladislav said, walking out of the room and then, out of the castle.

"Man, he gives me the creeps," Danny muttered to his sister.

Vlad let out a rueful scoff and leant back against the wall, glancing down at his bleeding arm. "You should count yourself lucky that he only decided to say 'hello'," he told his godson.

"That was 'hello'?" the young hybrid furrowed his brow and watched the older hybrid nod.

"No, that...that is not normal," Alexei shook his head, turning to Vlad.

"Yes, it is," he said, simply, grimacing as he tried uselessly to conceal the worst of the damage to his forearm.

"And neither is that," his uncle added. "What did you do?" he asked, reaching for Vlad's arm.

"It's nothing."

"If I had a ruble for each time you say that, I'd be richer than you," Alexei sighed as his nephew pulled his arm away before he could reach it.

"I doubt that," Vlad rolled his eyes, walking away.

"Where are you going?" Alexei asked.

"To find the spy," he answered.

"How do you know it's someone here? He never tells the truth, it could just be..."

"Of course it has to be one of them. This only happened last night," he snapped and held up his arm for a moment. "It has to be someone I passed on my way here...or someone they told," he said. Thinking back, he had walked past quite a few people and in one morning alone there could be up to fifty people coming and going, doing different jobs to maintain the castle. It posed quite a problem really.

"Wouldn't it be easier for him just to bug the castle?" Danny asked.

"Impossible," Vlad said.

"Just like you thought it was impossible for him to be watching you in the first place?" Alexei said.

"Well, trust me, it **is** impossible to bug this castle. You'd have an easier time bugging the White House."

"How can you be sure?" Valya asked.

"My security system," Vlad remarked, "Is more than state of the art."

"If you're sure," Rosalyn sighed, "But wouldn't it be best to check...just to be sure?"

"Yes, and I will...after I've sent them all home," he said.

"And by 'them' you mean..."

"Everyone working here, yes," Vlad nodded. When he first mentioned it I wasn't really all that concerned, I even thought it would be interesting for a while but I can't risk...In any case, I'll simply have to be rid of the the lot of them until I find out which ones he's bought off," he said, pausing for a moment as he opened the door.

"If...when you do...what are you going to do?" his mother asked, concerned, stepping forwards.

"Aside from firing them, you mean?" he scoffed, without turning back around to them. "I won't be held responsible for my actions when I find them; they knew the risks. They know what I'm like and they know what happens to people who double cross me. And anyway...I've ruined people for far less than this," he admitted before finally leaving the room.

* * *

After dismissing his entire staff from the stable hands to the restoration upkeep workers Vlad was sitting in his study staring at an expensive and elaborate three monitor computer setup on an antique desk. He'd sent duplicates after most of his employees after they'd left and he hoped to find something useful in his files, but so far, there was nothing. If he was being honest, Vlad didn't expect it to be easy, after al, his father was involved and he loved nothing more than making life as difficult as he possibly could for his son.

"...What do you want?" Vlad drawled when he sensed Skulker float into the room.

"Word is," Skulker began with a smug expression, "That you rescued the ghost boy."

"Now is really not the time."

"But you don't do 'rescuing', Plasmius," the hunter frowned, floating over to sit in one of the large, soft arm chairs.

"Hypothetically, if I did save anyone, ever, then I imagine that I'd have an ulterior motive for doing it," the hybrid remarked, looking up from his work.

"That's what I thought...till I heard you got wounded in the fight."

"I'm fine."

"You don't look it," Skulker said, noting Vlad's paler than usual skin, tired eyes and re-bandaged forearm.

"I said, I'm fine!"

"Alright," the ghost held up his hands placatingly. "Alright, if you say you're fine, then you're fine..." he explained quickly.

"I am," Vlad replied, simply. "And didn't I tell you not to come here while I have...guests?" he snapped.

"Still not happy with me, are you?"

"Of course I'm not, you oaf! You failed to..."

"Oh, come on, there's was hundreds of ghost hunters there! Even I have my..."

"You said you could do it. I didn't expect you to be stupid enough to take on eveypne single one of those fools!"

"Well, why don't you just kill the man yourself, then?!"

"I would but I..." Vlad stopped suddenly, his anger disintegrating in an instant as he remembered Danny's little truce. "I can't...not yet, anyway," he sighed.

"Not yet?" Skulker repeated, "Why?"

"...I'm testing...something," the hybrid shook his head, "And I'm not quite sure how it's going to work out yet."

"Testing what? What are you talking about?"

"You'll know soon enough," Vlad said enigmatically. "But for now...I suppose I should tell you not to go after Jack for a rematch...not for another seven days, at least...unless things change...or I change my mind. After all, I'm not even sure that I actually agreed to it in the first place."

"...I have no idea what you're talking about...but you're acting strange...stranger than normal," Skulker frowned.

"Am I?"

"And you're not going to tell me what's going on, are you?"

"What would give you that idea?"

"Because you never do," the ghost answered quickly.

"Fair enough," Vlad gave a small smile, "Now get out of my sight before I decide that I've been too lenient with you."

"...Am I pushing it if I ask you to replace the things you broke or..."

"Now, Skulker," the hybrid snapped, his eyes turning a ghostly, ominous red.

"Thought so," Skulker sighed dramatically and vanished a second later

* * *

Not long after, the world seemed determined to ensure that Vlad wasn't to have any peace and quiet when his mother and uncle joined him

"I was hoping you weren't going to take this too seriously," Rosalyn began, looking at her son who was staring at the monitors "But it looks like that ship has sailed," she sighed.

"How can I not take it seriously? All these years I thought it was free of him...what if I was wrong? What if I was just deluding myself all along?" Vlad questioned.

"This is what he wants, you know that. He **wants** you to worry about this..."

"I know that...it's what makes it worse. It always does. But I can't just ignore this and even if I tried, I..." he sighed, "I just can't. Now...leave me alone, I have to work."

"Vlad..."

"Go," he warned her. "Now," he added when they made no move to leave.

"...Alright," Rosalyn held up her hands and shook her head as she left the room.

"Did you have to do that?" Alexei asked his nephew, pointedly.

"I was speaking to you as well," Vlad answered simply and only looked up again when he heard the door close again.


	25. The 'Buccaneer'

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 25: The 'Buccaneer'**

* * *

"Oh, wonderful," Vlad sighed, slumping back in his chair as he reluctantly looked up to appraise the ghost that now hovered in front of him. "Do I need to start using a ghost shield...and a human one, just to be left alone in my own home?!" he lamented.

"Erm...I don't know 'bout that there, but I..." the Dairy KIng began with a confused expression.

"What?!" the hybrid snapped. "Actually, I don't care, no, don't say another word. Just get out!"

"But I..."

"I said, get out!" Vlad bellowed.

The long suffering Dairy King, too well acquainted with the hybrids' temper and his mood swings, simply did the smartest thing he could do in the given situation; he fled.

* * *

After a while, and after finding absolutely nothing, Vlad abandoned his searching, leaving the mundane task of perusing through his employees' digital lives to ANII, in favour of the old dart board he kept in his study. After all, what was the point of having an A.I if he couldn't delegate some of the the more tedious tasks to it? Even if he used a duplicate to look through the files he'd still need to focus some small amount of concentration on what it was doing and that defeated the purpose of trying to escape the boredom.

In a rather childish moment, Vlad imagined that it was his father's face adorning the board and even though he was using his left hand, the darts never missed. In fact, some of them went straight through the sturdy board to click against the stone wall behind it and when he tore them back out again, there were flecks of broken stone which chipped away.

Instead of throwing the darts again, he simply dropped them into his desk and began routing through the drawers, tossing asides old papers, pens and odd trinkets. It was in the bottom drawer, underneath a file that was at least three years old and covered in dust that he found a rumpled pack of unopened cigarettes.

It had been almost twenty years since he'd last smoked but for reasons unknown to him, he'd always kept cigarettes in his desk even when his dependency on them had waned. He didn't know why he'd done it then, and he didn't know why he'd gone looking for them now, all he knew was that he was over stressed, tired and that it was impossible for him to die of cancer, so he didn't need to care about the conceal ended anymore.

And it was of course a matter of minutes after he'd lit the first cigarette that Danny and Jazz chose to enter the room.

"I didn't know you smoked," Danny couldn't help but comment.

"I didn't," Vlad breathed. "I quit around, oh...eighteen years ago," he said thoughtfully.

"It didn't work then," Jazz replied.

"It did," he shrugged, "I haven't smoked since, I just...well, it's not as though it will kill me anymore," Vlad scoffed.

"...Erm...are you sure about that?" Danny asked, unconvinced.

"Perfectly," the older hybrid answered.

"Oh," the boy frowned.

"Disappointed?" Vlad raised an eyebrow and gave a sly smirk as he breathed out a puff of thick smoke.

Danny sighed, choosing not to rise to Vlad's bait, "Just surprised...I probably shouldn't be," he admitted instead.

"Wait another few years and you'll be immune too," Vlad told him. "We don't act as carriers for diseases or catch common colds. I haven't had a sick days in years and certainly, cancer can't touch me either," he elaborated, stubbing the end of the cigarette out on his left hand dramatically, smirking at the way the children hissed and grimaced.

He didn't even wince though as it burned through the skin on his palm and then he incinerated it in a burst of ectoplasmic flames and watched as the burn healed itself in less than thirty seconds as if to prove his point. It disappeared in a swirl of green energy which swept over the burn and then vanished once its task was done.

"That was nasty," Danny stated after a moment. "And you can't be immune to everything; you still got ecto-acne," he added.

"Yes," Vlad sneered. "Well...nothing's perfect," he remarked as he flexed his now, unmarred hand and lowered it to the surface of the desk again. "I can heal that in seconds but this," he said, holding up his bandaged right hand now, "Will linger for some time. No, you're quite right, we're not immune to everything...but we're as close as it's possible to get...I think."

"Scary," the boy shuddered.

"I suppose so, at first," the older hybrid mused, "But I've had years to come to terms with it."

"How'd you find out?"

Vlad looked surprised at the question, but he supposed that it was better to linger on that topic than it was for Danny to mention his little truce idea again. They'd only wind up arguing again anyway and he wasn't sure he had the strength for it. "I am a scientist," he said slowly, "I saw the clues, I tested my theories and I proved them."

"Clues?"

"Little things," Vlad shrugged, "As a boy...and even as a teenager, I'd been prone to illness; luck can only account for so much and I've never considered myself to be a particularly lucky man as it is."

"So you can't ever get sick...from anything other than ecto-acne? Really?" Jazz asked in disbelief.

"Nothing," Vlad shook his head, "Not even bubonic plague."

"I don't even wanna know how you found that out," Danny said quickly.

"I didn't use myself as a test subject," the man snapped, "I fell through a...portal in the Ghost Zone and it..."

"A portal inside the Ghost Zone?" Danny repeated, confused.

"Yes, surely you've seen at least one by now."

"Erm...I don't think so...unless you mean the floating doors."

"Well, they have the same function, but the doors are stable, the portals are not. A more apt name for them would be a...a fracture. Sometimes they have doorways even door frames, and they're notoriously difficult to predict. They can appear for seconds or minutes or even hours."

"Okay, I get it," the boy nodded. "So, you went through one..."

"Not willingly I didn't," Vlad reiterated. "As interesting as they are, unless I know how long they're going to stay open for, I don't willingly go through them. I have no wish to get myself trapped inside another one. They can lead anywhere...other worlds and different times."

"What'd you mean ' different times'?"

"...You fell through one and you ended up in medieval Europe, didn't you?" Jazz said, perceptively before he could answer.

"Bravo, Jasmine," Vlad gave a weak smile, "I did indeed."

"Medieval Europe?"

"Sometimes I really do despair at you, Daniel," the man sighed dramatically. "It's basic history that bubonic plague swept through Medieval Europe, and of course, at the time, it was a death sentence."

"Sorry that medieval history isn't my number one priority in life," Danny grumbled, "And how'd you 'fall' through an unstable portal, anyway?"

"I was young and the Ghost Zone was still a novelty to me at the time, I didn't know what they were then. I was distracted and a hoard of behemoths attacked me and tossed me through it," Vlad admitted, avoiding eye contact as though ashamed. "And...I fell," he breathed, "I think it was a particularly unstable portal. For a while I was falling through...nothingness...until I hit the ground. It was a tough enough time to knock me unconscious."

"And then?" Danny asked, eagerly.

"Well, luckily I landed in the middle of an empty field so no one saw me; I'd have been branded a demon or some such nonsense if they had," he scoffed. "The portal had closed by the time I woke up but there was a village and it was riddled with the dead and the dying. I had no wish to stay there but I didn't want to stray far from where the portal had opened. I thought, I hoped, that it would open up again, if not in the exact same spot them at least so where near to it. I was trapped there for just over three weeks before it reappeared and the population halved in that time alone."

"You were there for three weeks and you didn't get sick? Not even a little? How close did you stay to the village?" Jazz asked, equally intrigued.

"It was the middle of winter, so I had no choice but to stay in the village. I couldn't risk sleeping in the field and being seen using my powers to keep warm. They were suspicious of course but what could they do? People were dying and they had more important things to worry about that me."

"No one noticed that you were gone for that long?" Jazz questioned.

"Time passes different in the Ghost Zone, I'm sure you've noticed that," Vlad said, glancing at Danny, "Three weeks passed by in there but here it was only half a day."

"Whoa," Danny breathed, "I knew time was funny there but I didn't think it was that bad."

"Well, it was an unstable portal, so I don't suppose that helped."

"...And I thought I'd had some crazy adventures," the boy remarked.

"It wasn't an 'adventure'," Vlad scoffed. "I didn't know then that I was immune to the plague. I thought I was going to be trapped there forever or until it killed me like it killed them...It's a truly horrific way to die, you know. I'm not sure even I would wish it on anyone."

"Even our dad?" Danny narrowed his eyes.

"I...don't know," the man frowned.

"Well...guess it's better than a 'yes'," the boy grumbled.

"If you say so," Vlad shrugged, nonchalantly.

"Have you, erm, been in any other of the...portal things?" Danny asked, not able to hide the fact that he was genuinely interested in spite of his mistrust and anger.

"Yes."

"How many?"

"...A lot," Vlad admitted.

"I thought you said it was dangerous," Jazz said.

"It is," the older hybrid shrugged, "Under normal circumstances but once you know how stable a portal is and how long it's going to stay open, then it really isn't."

"You can do that?" Danny exclaimed, surprised.

"Well, I can't, but ANII can. Speaking of which, ANII, find portal 37 and tell me how stable it is," Vlad ordered. The A.I complied with an acknowledging 'beep' and the screens on Vlad's desk showed that the Ghost Zone was being scanned using something which almost resembled radar.

"What's...what's portal 37?" Danny asked.

"One of my favourites," Vlad replied mysteriously.

"Portal 37 is stable and will remain open for two hours," ANII said.

"Excellent," the older hybrid all but leapt from his chair.

"Whoa, whoa, wait, what're you doing?"

"I'm leaving," Vlad answered simply. "I don't need to sit here and watch you scowl at me when I could spent my time in much more interesting ways."

"I wasn't scowling!" Danny cried, "And even if I was, it's not like you don't deserve it."

"Yes, yes, yes," the older hybrid shook his head and waved a dismissive hand before he floated down into his lab.

"ANII, what the heck is portal 37?" the boy sighed once Vlad was gone.

"The 37th portal discovered and recorded by Mr. Masters. It is one of the more stable portals in the Ghost Zone," she answered.

"Little more explanation, please."

"It leads to the years 1651 and 1656 aboard the pirate vessel 'The Buccaneer'."

"A pirate ship? As in a real life pirate ship?!" Danny yelled out.

"Yes."

"Vlad, wait up!" the boy grabbed his sister by the wrist and flew them both down through the floor.

When they got to the lab, Vlad was standing before the open Ghost Portal and was about to fly though it when he sensed them behind him. "What?" he demanded.

"Pirates," Danny said simply, "Actual, real life pirates!"

"ANII told you," he sighed, "If an A.I could 'like' things, I get the feeling that she'd like you."

"And the pirates?"

"What about them?"

"What what'd...I mean how...what the heck do you do in there?!"

"Well, they think I'm a spirit of a long dead, very powerful pirate and every now then then they 'allow' me to take command of the ship," he gave a small grin.

"...You're not joking, right?"

"Does it look like I'm 'joking'?" Vlad raised an eyebrow.

Only now did Danny notice that although Vlad was indeed in his ghost form, he wasn't wearing his customary white costume and cape. He was wearing a long, blood red military style coat with elaborate gold embroidery and buttons, with black trousers and tall leather boots and a sash around his waist with two swords and a dagger at his hip. His black hair was brushed back and loose over his shoulders and he could certainly pass for a seventeenth century pirate despite his red eyes and blue skin.

"Wow, okay...maybe I should've noticed that sooner," Danny frowned. "Did you notice that?" he muttered to Jazz who simply nodded back at him, "Then why didn't you say anything?!"

"You didn't give me a chance," she replied.

"I don't believe this, I really don't," Danny grumbled. "There's pirates in the Ghost Zone and you...you look like one...and how the heck can you look so cool in that getup?! If I wore that I'd look like a dweeb and then I'd get beat up for it!"

"I look 'cool'?" Vlad repeated, the colloquialism sounding strange as it always did when he used them.

"And you just ruined it," the boy frowned.

"I don't have time for this," the older hybrid rolled his eyes, turning back to the portal.

"No way you get to play pirate and leave us here!" Danny exclaimed.

"...You want to come too?" Vlad asked, "You trust me enough to follow me into the Ghost Zone knowing that I could turn on you as I did your father?" he asked rather pedantically.

"I...well...I..." the boy stammered, "But there's pirates!" he wined.

"And there's me," Vlad emphasised. "If I'm even a second too late, the portal will close behind and leave anyone trapped on the other side, possibly forever. Don't you understand the risks? You were the one saying that I'm not the be trusted after what I did. How can you be so stupid as to be blinded by your childishness so easily?!"

"It's not stupid," Danny snapped quickly, "And we have a truce, don't we?"

"I never actually agreed to that, if you recall, I said I'd think about it."

"Did you?"

"...I did."

"And?"

"And you're both fools if you decide to follow me," Vlad said dryly, "But if you do, you'd better keep up," he added before he leapt through the portal.

"So...apparently I'm an idiot...guess I can live with that," Danny shrugged and turned to his sister. "Pirate time now?" he asked with a smile.

"Pirate time," she nodded, watching as he morphed into his ghost half, and flew them both after Vlad.

* * *

In the year 1653, The 'Buccaneer' was a beautiful galleon ship made of dark wood with white sails, three masts and a classically carved, flawless mermaid at the bow. She was reputed to be one of the fastest ships on the seas as well as one of the most notorious, both for the misdeeds of her crew and for the fact that it was said to be haunted.

To many people in the seventeenth century, ghosts, spirits and demons were not to be laughed at or snubbed; even witches could be as real as the person standing beside you. There were portents and omens all around if you knew where to look and the high seas didn't lack for superstitions either. 'Here be dragons' indeed. *1

Vlad, not being at all hindered by the belief system of a bygone age, frequently exploited the fact that the crew were scared to death of him. All he had to do was float a while, demonstrate a few simple powers and he was declared the 'ghost of the Buccaneer.' The captain, a middle aged, battle hardened and scared man called Diego Dedram, though a little more sceptical than his men, had no choice but to declare Vlad an 'unworldly' being. He knew there was more to the half ghost than Vlad let on, but their 'work' together had been profitable each time, so he didn't complain, much.

Danny and Jazz, watching invisibly and intangibly, saw Vlad command the crew with an unsurprisingly cold attitude but he seemed to know what he was doing as he steered the ship and bellowed orders. The captain stood by his side at the helm with a spyglass between his callused fingers.

"How long d'ye expect to stay this time, ghost?" he demanded.

"You ask me that every time and every time my answer is the same," Vlad replied.

"Don't ghosts see all?"

"No."

"Hmmm," the man snorted. "I never heard of no other ghosts what come and go as they please as you do," he muttered.

"Know a lot of ghosts, do you, captain?" Vlad raised a shrewd eyebrow, smirking at the defeated look on the man's face.

"Sail ho!" a cry came from the top of the ship and the captain immediately looked out to the sea.

"Looks like a slave ship," one of the men announced.

"Slaves?!" Danny muttered to his sister, who merely 'shushed' him.

"Aye," another man said, "'S a slaver, alright, cap'n...err...cap'n's. Not worth takin'."

"Vlad, you can't just..." the boy hissed quietly, whispering into the older hybrid's ear but Vlad gave no outward sign of having heard him.

"Agreed," Vlad nodded.

"Vlad!" Danny growled and time at least, the older hybrid glared in his general direction.

"What?!" Vlad hissed back, too quietly for the pirates to hear him.

"Slaves?" the boy questioned again and watched as the man simply shrugged, "You can't just leave 'em! Can't we help them?"

"Why?" the older hybrid muttered.

"Wha'?" the captain frowned, seeing that Vlad was distracted.

"Hmmm? Oh, nothing," Vlad snapped back, moving from the helm to look out at the ship, leaning his hands on the wooden railing.

"Please, Vlad!" Danny begged, a little too loudly perhaps. But the pirate crew were too busy bustling about the ship to pay much attention and the captain had moved to reclaim the helm the instant that Vlad had moved so he was out of earshot.

The dark haired hybrid sighed heavily, pursing his lip and lowering his head for a moment before he raised it again and turned back to the captain.

"Dedram," Vlad began.

"Aye?"

"How many men have you lost since my last...visit?"

"Five," the captain answered, "Why?"

"I'm sure there will be men aboard that ship who'll willingly join you after you take it...if you spare them," Vlad remarked.

"The state they'll be in, they be about as much use as the men I lost, and they be at the bottom of the sea," he replied, coldly.

"Perhaps," the hybrid nodded. "But the crew of the ship...they would be of more use to you, wouldn't they?"

"I suppose so," the captain admitted.

"And I did notice that you seem to be low on rum and wine too. It's possible that the ship isn't just transporting people, it could have valuables bound for the owner of the slaves as well."

"Hmmm," the captain hummed, "Well...when y'put it that way," he gave a sly grin before turning to face the men gathered on the deck. "Take her down, lads!" he bellowed and they let loose a raucous cheer of approval before they all began to scurry past each other.

"What're you gonna do?" Danny whispered to Vlad, but again he got no answer, or even a recognition.

* * *

Although merchant and slave ships knew that pirates roamed the high seas with ease, many thought it too expensive to have other, more armed ships accompanying them, and after all, what pirate would attack a slave ship when there rich merchant ships to be had?

It didn't take long for the pirate crew to overwhelm the ship and the majority of the slaves that had survived the perilous journey were freed and chose to join the 'Buccaneer.' The pirates were met with such fear that some of the slave ships crew had leapt overboard to avoid the fight, making it all too easy. Those that remained had surrendered within seconds and had been gathered on their knees on the deck before Vlad and Dedram.

The pirate captain was a fearsome sight to any sane human who wanted to live, but Vlad was even more so especially in an age with so many superstitions.

"W...w...what manner of being are you?" the terrified captain of the slave ship asked, furrowing his brow at the hybrid. He was a portly man with fine clothes and several gold flings adoring his chubby fingers.

"They're cowards, captain Plasmius," the pirate said to him. "We both hate cowards. Shall I rid the seas of them or shall you?" he asked.

Vlad blinked over for a moment in the direction he knew that Danny and Jazz were, he couldn't see them but he could hear their breathing and he knew just how they'd react if he condoned the murder of these long dead slave traders. It would certainly make the boy think twice about his 'truce' and though Vlad was loathe to admit it, he didn't really want that to happen. But surely, these people deserved to die; their profession was a terrible one and they were cowards, the captain had been right about that.

It was in his best interest to placate the children and even he didn't want them to be witness to a bloody slaughter. The taking of the ship had been, fortunately bloodless but only because these men were such cowards.

"How far from land would you say we are?" Vlad asked Dedram.

"A good few days...why?"

"Set them adrift," the hybrid replied, "They're of no use to you."

"Or...I could just kill them," the pirate drew his blade, brandishing it before the throat of the opposing, whimpering captain at their feet.

"No!" Danny yelled.

"Enough!" Vlad yelled, appearing in a puff of smoke with an extended hand, catching the sharp cutlass in his hand, stopping it before the captain could bring it down to kill the men kneeling on the deck.

"What're you doing, ghost?!" Dedram bellowed, angrily.

"I said, enough," the hybrid hissed, "You've got what you came for, and more besides...and now you're leaving."

"I can't just...but they're..."

"Now, Dedram," Vlad snarled, his hand tightening around the sword so much that it snapped between his fingers like a twig. The shards fell to the deck, clattering uselessly at their feet. The pirate growled, tossing the useless hilt away after staring at it in shock for a moment.

"Fine," the captain hissed, knowing that he was outmatched against the ghost. Signalling to his men, new and old, with one hand and he lead them off the slave ship and back to the 'Buccaneer.'

"Spirit..." the captain of the slave crew spoke, "You spared us..."

Vlad turned his red eyes towards the speaking man and it silenced him instantly. "You have one minute," he said simply.

"W...what?"

"In one minute I'm going to obliterate this ship whether you're on it or not," the hybrid said, letting them see that his hands, for a moment, had glowed with ghostly fire, before he took to the to the sky with a graceful leap.

"Vlad, wait up!" Danny cried, following the hybrid into the air.

* * *

They watched as the remaining crew aboard the slave ship, fumbled with the small wooden raft and began to row as fast as they could, out into the open sea. At the same time, the pirates were also making their escape, steering away.

"If we hadn't have been there..." Danny began, finally becoming visible beside Vlad in the air with his sister holding onto him. "If you'd have come here by yourself...you'd have let the pirate kill them, wouldn't you? Or...you wouldn't have helped the slaves at all?" he asked.

Vlad said nothing as his hands ignited in ectoplasm and he fired a strong blast down at the ship, watching as it went up in unnatural flames, no doubt cementing his legacy as the 'ghost pirate' with so many to witness his power. The fire was purple and pink and it hungrily engulfed the masts, bringing them crashing down to the deck and smashing through to the lower levels.

"We're going back," the older hybrid announced, flying them back to the portal.

* * *

Not another word was spoken between the three of them until they set foot in Vlad lab again and Danny, morphing back as he watched the older hybrid locking the portal behind them, nervously repeated his question.

"You would've let them die, wouldn't you?" he asked, "The crew...the slaves?"

"They're already dead. They died hundreds of years ago," Vlad snapped, "And you were the one who wanted me to free the slaves. We freed them, made them pirates and they probably went on to kill people before they too were killed; the life of a pirate didn't usually end well. Those slave traders that I let loose because of you probably made it to land and brought more slaves to Europe in even worse conditions than what you saw in there. Does it really matter whether they were freed or killed or left alone? People still died either way."

"But...but we couldn't just...do nothing," Danny protested.

"Why not?"

"I...I don't...I don't know," Danny ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe being a pirate isn't as fun as I thought it'd be," he said.

"Life isn't fun," the man said, coldly. "And the further back in history you go, it gets even less so. Exploring the cities of ancient Rome while they watch people being mauled to death by hungry lions isn't even my idea of entertainment. Life in the world wars wasn't an adventure. And life as a pirate is as violent as anything else out there!"

"Yeah," the boy nodded sadly, "I get it."

"It was a mistake to let you two follow me. Fighting ghosts is one thing but fighting humans is another entirely, you know that. I've seen people die before, you were lucky that no one died in there this time. I won't take you through another portal and you'll do well not to go looking for them."

"Maybe you shouldn't go back in one either if they're that bad," Danny replied.

"The violence doesn't bother me," Vlad shrugged.

"...It should," the young hybrid remarked.

"Probably," he agreed, "But it doesn't."

"Why?"

"You know why?"

"Well...fighting's different than killing and seeing people die, right?"

"I suppose, but you wouldn't understand anyway," Vlad reluctantly replied. "Here," the older hybrid said, tossing one of the swords from his belt to Danny who caught it just in time. "A genuine seventeenth cutlass...consider it a souvenir," Vlad explained at the boy's confused expression. "Look...you have to understand...both of you...I'm not like you, no, don't laugh; even when I was your age, I wasn't like you," he said.

"...Okay..." Danny drew out the word.

"Not all the portals lead to violent worlds, it's just easy to forget that you're both so...naïve."

"We're not..." Jazz began to protest.

"I won't make that mistake again," Vlad told them, walking off.

"Wait," Danny said quickly. Vlad didn't turn around, but he did stop which gave the young hybrid a chance to speak again. "We were only gone for an hour or so, right?" he asked.

"We were on the ship for four hours, but here..." the man glanced at the clock on one of the monitors, "It's been thirty five minutes."

"Right...so...no one'd notice if we were gone a bit longer. I mean...an adventure for an adventure. It's my turn now. I don't know about any weird portals or anything but..."

"No."

"Awww, come on, Vlad, the Ghost Zone's not all...doom and gloom, y'know!"

"I said, no," Vlad reiterated.

"Please," Danny said in the same tone that had made the older hybrid so quickly give in before, "Please, please, please, please, please..."

"No, no, no, no, no," the man replied to each plea, his tone rising quickly and he eventually spun around when he became frustrated. "Alright!" he snapped, "Alright, alright, just...stop...saying that!"

"What? 'Please'?" Danny gave a confused smile, watching as Vlad looked away, refusing to answer.

* * *

*1 Old English cartographers used the phrase 'here be dragons' to signify an unexplored part of the world.


	26. Genealogy

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 26: Genealogy**

* * *

The Ghost Zone really was a beautiful place, Danny admitted to himself in an otherworldly, eerie sort of way even if most of its inhabitants wanted to destroy him.

"Y'know...this place used to scare me...a lot," he admitted aloud.

"I'm not surprised," Vlad replied dryly.

"I'm trying to make a map," Danny said, conversationally.

"And how is that working out?" the older hybrid asked, seemingly amused.

"...Erm...not very well. There's...too much in here and things move around. I, err...I guess you figured a way round that, right?"

"Of course."

"Wanna tell me how?"

"You saw how," Vlad replied. "I have a digital map and it scans for whatever I want to find. Conventional mapping techniques aren't exactly effective here."

"Yeah...I'm kinda getting that."

"There is...supposedly...a map that can track the portals and each of the realms in here. I've spent years searching for it without success."

"Why'd you need a map when you have a computer that does the same thing?" Jazz asked.

"Because the Infi-map would be far more accurate then my scanners. I only know the destination of portals that I've already chartered but the map knows them all. It knows where they are, where they will be, where they lead to and when they'll close. I have no way of knowing everything that it does, or that it supposedly does."

"Infi-map, huh?" Danny pursed his lip, "Nope...never heard of it."

"Well, now you have."

"I..." Danny began before an excited cry cut him off.

"Phantom, dude!" the voice came from a floating rock just below them. Young Blood was dressed as an astronaut and was walking backwards in a ridiculously oversized slingshot. "You're just in time!" the young ghost smiled. "Wanna watch me launch myself into the hearts of millions?" he asked.

Danny shared a confused glance with his sister and Vlad before he saw the older hybrid give a small smirk. "Erm...sure, why not?" Danny shrugged.

"Ah, might I offer a suggestion?" Vlad said in a very diplomatic tone.

"Huh?" Young Blood frowned. "Hey, cool costume," he added on seeing just how the older hybrid was dressed.

Vlad had discarded the red frock coat but still wore the remainder of his pirate regalia including the one sword which he hadn't given to Danny, his boots and his elaborate white poets' shirt.

"My suggestion," the hybrid stated, ignoring his compliment.

"Oh, yeah, sure."

"Aim...well, yourself...in that direction," Vlad pointed to the right.

"Why?"

"You'll have a soft landing," he answered smoothly.

"In what?"

"About 50 feet of snow. Klemper's islands are that way."

"Sweet," the boy grinned. "One small step for..." the excited ghost started to say but before he could finish, the slingshot suddenly snapped and flung him high into the air and out of sight. "Whoa..." he cried, his voice vanishing as he did.

"What happened?" Danny furrowed his brow. He looked around and he quickly alighted on the fact that Vlad's left hand was glowing with ectoplasm. "You didn't?" he asked in shock.

"Clumsy me," Vlad shrugged almost sheepishly and Danny snorted in disbelief.

"So...What's really over there?" the younger hybrid asked.

"You think I lied?"

"I totally know you lied," the boy frowned.

"In that case," Vlad shrugged, "It's the Ghost Writer's home. I can't be sure just how far the boy will manage to 'fly' but at a guess I'd say it..."

"The Ghost Writer?!" Danny swallowed. "He's gonna land straight through the roof? He'll go nuts! It'll mess up his stupid books and...wait..." he broke off, suddenly laughing. "Hah! That's...that's genius!" he chortled.

"One does one's best," the man replied.

"You don't like him either, then?"

"Not particularly, no. He tried to make a story out me once and I've still not forgiven him for it."

"Hey, me too...wasn't a Christmas one, was it?" Danny asked.

"No, but I did permanently 'borrow' one of his books so I was expecting some kind of retaliation."

"You stole off him?"

"Borrowed, Daniel, I borrowed it...without permission."

"I hope it was a good book," the boy sighed.

"It's a very good book about every legend and myth ever told about the Ghost Zone...and every powerful object in it. It's how I first learned about the Infi-map."

"...I guess that was worth it then," Danny agreed.

"I thought so," Vlad nodded, "It's also why you won't be able to surprise me no matter where you decide to lead me."

"Well...erm...what about...the SplitZone?"

"Boring," Vlad shook his head.

"The...storage room...place..."

"Tedious," he reiterated.

"Walker's jail?"

"Prison, Daniel, really?"

"Right, right..." Danny sighed, "What about...erm...Dora's place? Y'ever been there?"

"Yes."

"Okay...you really have seen everywhere," the boy threw up his arms. "Hey, speaking of Dora...I wonder what they did with the crazy dragon prince," he muttered.

"They imprisoned him," Vlad answered quickly, without thinking. "In a tower designed by yours truly," he explained, "It's inescapable."

"Huh? You...helped...them?"

"They paid me," he explained, as though that alone was his justification.

"With what?" Danny asked reluctantly.

"Maybe one day, I'll show you," Vlad replied enigmatically. "I did tell them that it would have been easier to simply destroy Aragon but for some reason they were against that idea. I don't know why; they all hated him and it would have been much easier than designing an inescapable tower. Dorathea always was too soft."

"Huh," Danny mused. "Hey...what's that place, down there?" he asked suddenly, looking down at a realm of ice and snow, "That's not Kelmper's Realm..is it?"

"No, it isn't," Vlad answered. "I'm not sure who or what, lives there, I've never bothered to look. What good is a frozen wasteland to me?"

"Hey, at least it's something you don't know," the young hybrid grinned. "I say we check it out," he said, soaring down to the frozen tunnel.

Vlad gave a long suffering sigh before he took off after Danny and flew through the floating tunnel of ice. It lead to an open field of snow with hills made of ice and nothing else in sight.

"...Its freezing..." Danny shivered as he landed on the ground.

"What did you expect?" Vlad scoffed, trying to keep his own shivering under control. "There's nothing here, just ice and snow and...nothingness," he sneered.

"I disagree," a deep voice spoke and they spun around to see who it was that had spoken.

It was a large, almost yeti like creature covered in thick white fur save for one arm which appeared to be bone encased in pure ice. He had sharp claws on both hands and feet and s royal blue cape was slung over his broad back. "I am Frostbite, leader of the Far Frozen and you, Vlad Plasmius...we have heard of your exploits and you are no friend to my people."

"That's a pity," Vlad sneered, looking around at the hills of ice and snow in disdain. "And I did so want to be made welcome here in your...home," he said.

"Vlad," Danny sighed.

"You however," Frostbite turned to Danny, "You are most welcome here, oh saviour of the Ghost Zone."

"Saviour?" Danny repeated, incredulously.

"Of the Ghost Zone?" Jazz furrowed her brow.

"Erm...Mr. Frostbite, sir...I'm not sure...I think you've got the wrong ghost kid..." the boy stammered.

"I assure you, I do not," Frostbite smile, "You and your allies are most welcome in my village."

"Well...Vlad's an ally," Danny frowned.

"Very well," Frostbite sighed, leading them to his village, whilst keeping a close eye on Vlad.

* * *

"So this is why you think I'm 'the great one'," Danny said, looking up at the cave etchings of himself and of the ghost King, Pariah Dark. "Because I stopped the ghost King," he muttered.

"Honestly," Vlad scoffed.

"Well, if you hadn't freed him in the first place, I wouldn't be getting called the 'saviour' of anything," the boy whispered quietly and saw the older hybrid scowl at him.

"We know that it was you who freed him," Frostbite said to Vlad.

"It was an accident," Vlad hissed. He didn't purposely go around making enemies, but this ghost was testing his patience. It had watched him from the moment they had met and it made Vlad feel like a misbehaving child to be so scrutinised.

"It was foolish," the ghost corrected him.

"How dare you..."

"Guys," Danny sighed, "Really, you're acting like kids!"

"Apologies, oh great one," Frostbite said in a calmer tone and Vlad simply scoffed at him.

"Can you stop with the 'great one' stuff...please...my name's 'Danny'," the boy said kindly.

"As you wish, oh great Danny."

"...Its a start," Danny smiled.

"Now, we shall have a great feast to celebrate your arrival!" Frostbite declared, leading Danny and his sister out of the cave.

"Not too shabby," the boy declared on seeing the food ladened tables at the cave's entrance.

They saw one of the yeti like creatures making an ice sculpture using his powers and it looked exactly like Danny. "I...erm...I really don't think...hey, wait a minute...you used ice powers!" he exclaimed, his embarrassment quickly forgotten.

"Of course," Frostbite said, "I sense that you too have this ability...And you do not," he added, looking at Vlad.

"No, why? Are you afraid that I'll burn down your little village?" Vlad hissed, his hands glowing with ectoplasm.

"Vlad, calm d..." Danny gently nudged the man's shoulder.

"Don't even think about telling me to 'calm down'," he snapped quickly. "I don't appreciate being sneered at by snow monsters I've never even met," he said.

"It would not be wise to attack us, Plasmius," Frostbite advised, his eyes glowing blue, "You are outnumbered."

"Not for the first time."

"Oh, come on," Danny sighed, "Guys, can't you just...play nice, just for five minutes?"

"I've done nothing to warrant this animosity!" Vlad cried.

"You are an enemy of the Ghost Zone...however...because the great one asks it...we will be...civil," Frostbite said, the deadly gleam fading from his eyes.

"Don't bother," Vlad scoffed. "I'm leaving. Have fun with your new friends...oh great one," he said to Danny before he vanished.

"Wait, Vlad!" the boy cried, but it was too late, "...Oh...nuts..." he muttered.

"It's my understanding that you and Plasmius were bitter rivals...might I ask how this changed?" Frostbite asked curiously.

"...I'm not really sure it has," the hybrid rubbed his tried eyes. "But...its kind of a long story," he added.

"If it will help the great one, I am told that I am a solver of many problems," the ghost gave a proud smile. "And that I can be a great listener when called for," he said.

"...Okay..." Danny smiled back sheepishly, "Well...it all started..."

* * *

Victoria was sitting alone in the huge castle library with an open book resting on her legs before the fire. Vlad marched in, expecting, as usual to find the place devoid of life so he was more than a little surprised to find the child there.

"What are you doing?" Vlad demanded, as he closed the door behind him. He wasn't used to seeing others reading his books and after what had happened only minutes ago, he was still angry and confused about what he was so fuming.

He was used to being hated by most ghosts and humans but he want used to seeing ghosts 'worshiping' Danny, who was much weaker than him, whilst actively being disapproving of him. Perhaps it was his fault that Pariah had been set free but he had fixed that mistake and his life had been at risk. He could have simply fled but he hadn't. Granted, he'd given the most difficult task to Danny but it wasn't as though he'd been idle.

"Reading history of Russia," Viktoira answered without looking up from the book. "Is what I was learning about in school before we left home," she added.

"Hmm," he hummed, walking gracefully to stand over her, "And what have you learned so far?"

"That mummy was wrong. She said we are important family but we are not mentioned in this book," Vikki set aside the book.

"She wasn't wrong," he told her, sitting down in a red leather arm chair only a metre or so away from the girl. "We are an important family...now, anyway, though perhaps not at the time of Catherine the Great," he smiled, looking at the open page which had a large portrait of the ruler.

"Why not?" she asked childishly.

"No family starts of powerful, we all have to start somewhere," Vlad shrugged. "Your grandfather would tell you that we've always been great. As a child he told me all sorts of stories; we're descendants of Vlad Tepes, Ivan the Terrible and...well, it was just ridiculous. But my own research has shown that we started of as little more than cattle thieves in the mid seventeenth century," he chuckled. *1

What child didn't want to learn that they were descended from famous figures in history? It wasn't always the wisest course of action though, to tell them that they were when they really weren't. Vlad had learned this the hard way after a lifetime of being told of their 'great' family history, he discovered the truth. It wasn't a great truth but it was the truth nonetheless. He had no intention of telling the same lies to Viktoria lest she end up like his father, who was still too stubborn to believe the truth. The old man still thought he was a descendent of every monarch to ever rule over Russia and more besides.

"How is this?" the girl asked, "Our family were cattle thieves?"

"It was quite a common way for family's to gain influence and power," he assured her. "In fact..." Vlad trailed off as he stood up and wandered across to his desk and unlocked one of the drawers. He took out a wooden box and brushed off a thick layer of dust before he opened it and unrolled a long piece of paper on the surface of the desk. "Here," Vlad said, "We might not be mentioned in conventional history books but this is what I've been able to find about our family." The scroll like paper was over a metre in length and listed the names of dozens of people.

"Who is that?" Vikki asked, pointing to the names at the top.

"Your distant ancestor, well, our distant ancestor. Yacob Gospodin, he started his life as a penniless farmer and ended it as a somewhat wealthy man of means. He was a cattle thief," Vlad smirked at her. "Ingenious, daring but the basis of his wealth was running off with other people's cows."

"Very funny," she laughed.

"Isn't it?" he grinned. "Now...skipping forward a few centuries, we had more means than most in the time of the Napoleonic wars and we lived thought it in a stoke of very good luck. You've heard of the Napoleonic wars?"

"A little...but why good luck?"

"For a while, it looked as though the French would defeat Russia, the Gospodin's turned traitor and sold secrets to them."

"That is terrible!"

"Yes...but somehow, when Napoleon's army was forced to leave Moscow they were able to convince people that they'd acted in Russia's interests all along. They'd gathered intelligence on the 'enemy' and preceded to sell it back to the Tsar. They were shunned but still wealthy enough and very much alive."

"Very lucky," she repeated his words.

"Yes, indeed. Let it not be said that we lack resourcefulness," he remarked dryly. "Moving on...the Russian revolution. Your grandfather used to tell me that we acted nobly; to defend the rights of the common people but I don't believe that at all. At the start of the 1900's, the Gospodin's had successfully worked their way into the royal court but like most nobles, they had little power because..."

"The Tsar had all the power!" Vikki exclaimed, "I read about that."

"Correct. The Tsar's had almost total control over the nobles and they in turn had power over the people but that wasn't enough for our family. They actively encouraged the first strike of 1917, it spread and the army responded but eventually, most of the garrisons defected and joined the strike. The government was forced to resign but, of course, because they 'sympathised' with the masses, our family was safe and powerful. Then, in short, we helped to overthrow the new state and became a leading power of the..." he trailed off, letting her finish the sentence.

"Oh, I know...the Soviet Union, yes?!" she said.

"Yes. Then, when its leader died in the 1950's some of the more oppressive policies were removed and because our family had suggested many of them...my grandfather fled the country."

"To America."

"To America," he nodded. "The 'Gospodin's' became the 'Masters' and here we are," he finished.

"So...we were...not so great," she inferred correctly.

"Well, that depends on your point of view," Vlad said, sitting back down in his desk chair. "We aren't renowned for being brave warriors or heroes, but no one's perfect. We survived, despite everything. We started with nothing and centuries later we ended up in the court of the Tsar's. That's got to count for something regardless of how it was achieved. We certainly weren't the first family to scheme their way to the top and we won't be last, Viktoria."

Vikki glanced down and unrolled the last of the family tree; it ended with Vlad on one side and her mother, Valya on the other. "I am not on this family history," she said quietly after a moment.

"No," Vlad confirmed. He hadn't looked at the paper for over five years and five years ago he hadn't been aware of her existence, so naturally she wasn't listed. "Would you like to be?" he asked her suddenly.

"I...think so," she nodded.

"Easily done," he said, standing up and taking a fountain pen from his desk. He drew a line from his cousins' name to signify that she had married and then stopped. "Your father's name is Mikhail?" he questioned, remembering that his mother had briefly mentioned the man.

"Mikhail Novikoff," she answered, watching him write her father's name and then hers, in elegant calligraphy then rolled up the paper again.

"Can I borrow this...to show mummy?" she asked.

"If you want," he shrugged lightly and handed her the large scroll. "Take this as well," he said, taking out a dusty, leather bound book from the same drawer as the scroll. It had an elaborate coat of arms on the front and the pages were worn. "We may not be in the history books but this is our history book, in all its...glory. Just make sure to bring it back," he said.

"I will," she said. "Erm...Uncle Vlad?" she asked timidly.

"Yes?"

"Before...why was grandfather so...bad to you? Why did he shout at you?"

"We...don't get on," Vlad answered evasively.

"Why?"

"Some...people just don't," he said.

"Like my mummy and daddy?"

"I couldn't say," he replied, honestly, "I've never met your father."

"Oh," she sighed again.

* * *

"Trying to make peace with your enemy," Frostbite said, thoughtfully. "It is a noble undertaking to be sure...but a dangerous one. Plasmius is not a ghost to be underestimated."

"I know," Danny rolled his eyes.

"We have heard of his dealings for the past ten years and his search for the Infi-map has long since reached our ears."

"Whoa, wait, go back...the Infi-map...Vlad mentioned that...said he was looking for it," the boy replied.

"And he must never find it," the ghost emphasised. "The map is an artefact of untold power. We have guarded it for centuries but were it to fall in it the wrong hands..." he trailed off.

"It's just a map, isn't it? What'd be so bad about him finding it?" Jazz asked.

"The map can take you to any realm or any time, it can lead you to where you need to go but also where you want to go. It could be used to alter history through the portals that appear...or even to destroy it," Frostbite said solemnly.

"Well, he already knows about the portals," Danny told him. "He can predict when they'll close and he says he uses them all the time. It doesn't look like he's destroyed all of history yet."

"He can predict them to such accuracy? Most distressing news, indeed!"

"What I'm trying to say," the boy sighed, "And coming from me this is really saying something, but...Vlad's not all...bad. He's not all good either but...no one is, right?"

"That is correct," Frostbite nodded. "But I do not think it wise to test your theory. If the time ever arrives in which Vlad Plasmius holds the Infi-map...can you say what would happen, truly?"

"I'd...like to say, nothing bad...but..." Danny pursed his lip as he thought.

"But you cannot say it because no one, ghost or human, can predict such a being. Therefore, I must ask you to never reveal the map's location to Plasmius. Should you yourself ever have need of it, you are welcome to use it but under my supervision for the map is dangerous. Can you promise me this, great one?"

"I guess I don't really have much of a choice," the hybrid replied.

"There is always choice...but so are there consequences to our choices."

"...You sound like Clockwork," Danny remarked.

"That is a true compliment," Frostbite grinned. "So, great one, would you like us to train you in your powers?" he asked, his hand glowing a pale blue with ghostly ice.

"Really?"

"If you wish it."

* * *

A few hours later, Valya entered the library, carrying with her the rolled up family tree and the leather bound book. Vlad was still sat at his desk engrossed in a book and he had a glass of whiskey and at least half a dozen cigarette stubs scattered around him. If she noticed this, she didn't say anything as she set down both items before him.

"Viktoira gave me quite the history lesson," she remarked, "Apparently we are cattle thieves and traitors."

"Really?"

"Mmmm," his cousin smiled, "What ever happened to Vlad Tèpès?"

"I told you, it was just another of my father's lies."

"You didn't have to tell her all of that," she said as he placed the book back in his desk drawer.

"You'd rather I told her the same lies? Why bother when I know the truth? We don't have the most...heroic family history, but we have one. Most people can't trace their families back more than a few generations. We have a history. We have a coat of arms. That's impressive enough."

"That is true," she nodded. "And Viktoria is not a silly child, she is very clever. She does not need to be lied to."

"...Why did you divorce your husband?" Vlad asked her suddenly.

"We both thought it was best," she shrugged. Though she looked surprised at the question, she didn't ask why he'd asked. "Mikhail hardly knew his daughter and if you asked her, you'd know that she knows almost nothing about him. He was...distant."

"Better a distant father than a..." he stopped himself from saying more but Valya understood.

"He wasn't like that," she said. "But people can fall out of love. There was no reason for me to stay with him."

"And...how long will you stay here, in America, I mean?"

"I don't know. For how will you let us live here? I don't intend for this to be permanent, I just need to..."

"You can stay," he told her, "For as long as you want. Indefinitely. You and Viktoria."

"...What?" Valya whispered quietly, in shock.

"You're family," Vlad replied, "And it's not as though I'm lacking the space or the money, is it?"

"I do not expect you to pay..."

"Get yourself a job or don't, it's none of my business, but I'll cover whatever you need."

"You would do this...for me, for my daughter?"

"Why not?" he muttered. He and his cousin had been the best of friends at one point and he had to admit he had missed her. The thought of never seeing her or Viktoria again wasn't one he wanted to entertain but it would be difficult to keep his secrets with them around. He'd just have to be extremely careful; he could do that. "You don't want to go back to Russia, do you?" he asked her.

"Well...no," Valya answered.

"Then it's settled, you'll stay here," Vlad announced.

"But I cannot just..."

"You'd rather stay somewhere else?"

"No, but..."

"Valya," he sighed, "I'm offering you a place here and you are supposed to accept because you want to. You know I don't care for excuses."

"I know," she replied. "But I have no money and you need nothing, you certainly don't need to give me anything."

"It doesn't matter," Vlad said, "I'm not asking you for anything."

* * *

*1 Sneaky reference to the Holderness family in 'The Priory School', a Sherlock Holmes story.


	27. REVIEW PROBLEMS

03/01/16

I don't know if everyone is having the same problem right now, but I can't read your reviews. They show up on the total counter that people have reviewed but on the breakdown by chapter page it says that chapter 26 has no reviews. I've tried seeing if they're, for some reason, waiting to be moderated, they're not. They're just not showing up and I waited for 2 days. Still, nada.

Any ideas? PM me if you know what the heck is going on. Thanks.


	28. Nightmarish

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 27: Nightmarish**

* * *

His appetite all but non existent, Vlad declined to eat with his family that afternoon, instead, he chose to stay alone in his library with only a bottle of whiskey and a packet of cigarettes. Of course they didn't approve, but there was only so many times they could tell him how detrimental it was to his health before they had to give up; he was an adult after all. They weren't to know that both habits weren't in fact detrimental to him in anyway whatsoever because if what he was. Vlad wasn't sure whether it was the lack of sleep or the stress that sapped him of his appetite but there was little he could do about either.

"Ah, the 'great one' returns," he announced pedantically when Danny and his sister entered the room. Strangely, the younger hybrid was carrying a plate of food, he noticed. "Tell me, how did the yetis take the tragic departure of their 'saviour'?" he asked.

"Vlad," Danny sighed.

"What?" Vlad demanded.

"You could've been a bit more...patient with Frostbite, he's a good guy...I mean a good ghost," the boy said. "Oh...your uncle said to bring this in, something about you being stubborn or something," he explained hastily, setting the plate on the desk. "Y'know...your mom's a good cook," Danny added. "Oh, come on, you're not sulking are you? It's not like Frostbite didn't have a good reason for being...careful."

"Oh?" Vlad questioned, "Do tell."

"I just meant...'cos you're...you..."

"Very convincing."

"It's true!" the boy cried, "And you know it."

"Well, they clearly weren't the brightest bunch, were they?" the older hybrid scoffed, "They worshiped you, for heavens' sake."

"Yeah, okay, I get it, funny, hah hah," Danny held up his hands, trying to stay calm. "Can we just drop it now?" he almost pleaded and Vlad shrugged wordlessly, "Thanks," he let out a relieved breath, taking Vlad's silence as an affirmation. "So...erm...any luck on your spy hunt?" the boy asked after a minute.

"None."

"Oh..."

"What's this?" Jazz asked, picking up the scroll that Vlad had neglected to put away. The book was safely stowed in his drawer, but he'd forgotten about the piece of paper in his hasty search for, and subsequent consumption of alcohol and tobacco. His family history seemed of little importance when he was struggling to keep his eyes open from lack of sleep.

"A history lesson for Viktoria," he answered. "Nothing of interest tot you, now..." he said, holding out his hand, clearly expecting to be instantly obeyed, but Jazz simply unrolled the paper, bravely.

"It's a family tree," she smiled.

"Yes, it's a family tree, now give it back," Vlad snapped.

"It's your family tree," the red head stated.

"Yes," he replied, impatiently, "So?"

"Nothing, I just...didn't think you'd have cared about this stuff," she admitted.

"I only did it to prove my father wrong," Vlad told them. "Now, if you will," he promoted her again and this time, she handed it back to him.

"There's a lot of people on there," Jazz remarked, "Most families are lucky to go back a couple of generations."

"I'm aware of that," he said, locking the scroll back in his drawer with the book. He clearly wasn't in a mood to discus his family linage with them so she took the hint and stopped asking him about it.

"I know you said that smoking won't kill you," she changed the subject instead. "But don't you think that's a bit...excessive?" she asked, eying the pile of cigarette stubs.

"Yeah, and it stinks in here too," Danny added.

"Well, there's the door," he simply replied with an elegant flourish of his good hand.

"I'm opening the windows," the young hybrid stated, plainly ignoring Vlad's comment.

Both Fenton siblings preceded to open two of the large windows much to Vlad's displeasure and he glared at them when they turned back to him. "What?" Danny asked him.

"Remind me," Vlad began, his tone haughty and aristocratic, "Just whose castle is this, again?" he asked. He didn't get an answer, of course he expected none, but he did get two very unamused expressions as a response.

Vlad moved to light another cigarette but Jazz couldn't help but speak up as he did. "Y'know...chain smoking is a really bad way of dealing with stress," she said, eyeing the half empty alcohol bottle, "So is drinking," she added quietly.

"Jasmine," the older hybrid warned her.

"Okay," she held up both hands in mock surrender and cursed herself for pushing her luck. She expected Vlad to simply ignore her and continue to smoke, but she was surprised when he let out a heavy sigh and took the still unlit cigarette from his mouth, placed it and the lighter on the desk and turned back to her.

"How would you deal with it, then?" he asked her suddenly and she found herself without words, stunned into silence. "Well?" he demanded. "You're intelligent. I have a scheming father lurking around, a possible spy in my household, my ghost powers to keep hidden from my own family under my own roof and for some reason I've just offered to house my cousin and her child for as long as they wish...which will only make it more difficult to hide what I am. And my revenge...which I cannot take, for now, thanks to you," he glanced at Danny. "This...inconvenience, which refuses to heal and my resurgent insomnia," he held up his injured hand as he finished.

He thought it best to leave out the fact that he'd been having nightmares when he actually did manage to sleep and of course there was the threat of another panic attack, but he got the feeling that they both understood that without him having actually voiced it aloud.

"...Erm..." Jazz muttered, "Well...I, erm..."

"Oh, you're about as eloquent and as useful as your brother," Vlad sighed.

"I just...I don't know what to say," she shot back. "I don't know what you want me to say. I don't deal with stress very well and...honestly...it sounds like you're pretty darn stressed."

"What gave it away?" he asked, sarcastically as he lit the cigarette and breathed out the toxic smoke.

"The smoking and the drinking were a..." Danny trailed off. "That was one of those questions that didn't need an answer again, wasn't it?" he muttered, embarrassed.

"How very astute," the older hybrid said, sounding suddenly very tired. "This isn't helping at all," he grumbled to himself, eyeing the cigarette with disdain. Instead of finishing it, he obliterated it with ectoplasm as though it had offended him somehow.

"It only took like ten of 'em for you to figure that out," Danny remarked as Vlad rested his elbows on the desk. The older hybrid began to rub this temples with the air of someone who was well accustomed to dealing with stress and headaches by himself.

"Perhaps I'll have more luck in fighting my so called arch enemy," he threatened, his eyes glowing red for a second.

"Arch enemy with a truce, remember?"

"Right, right," Vlad muttered absentmindedly while his eyes lost their ghostly glow.

"Are you...okay?" Danny asked, cautiously, "You look...kinda tired."

Vlad could have responded in any number of ways; he could have been sarcastic or simply told them both to leave him alone. He could have snapped and told them to stop asking him question and pretending like they cared. They couldn't care about him, not after everything they'd been through as enemies. Things like that didn't simply change in a week if indeed they changed at all, despite the fact that he had a soft spot when it came to them, as Danny had previously made more than evident.

"I'm fine," he said simply, leaning back in his chair.

"Uh-huh," the boy frowned, "Really?"

"Really," Vlad emphasised. "Now, you can thank my uncle for the food, I've been sufficiently chastised for my detrimental habits by them and by you," he drained the remnants of whiskey from the glass tumbler as he did so. "So you're free to go," he finished.

"You're not going to eat any of the food, are you?" Jazz asked him, knowingly.

"...Close the door on your way out," he replied simply.

* * *

As the sun set, Vlad saw little point in even trying to get to sleep; he wouldn't be able to anyway and even if he did, he'd end up with nightmares, so he saw no point in trying. His two dogs lay slumbering in front of the hearth while he slouched on the sofa in the main living room. He'd tried reading but found it difficult to focus on the words; he was tired, he knew he was and his mind was telling him to sleep, but he just couldn't. Four of his favourite and most re-read books were scattered on the floor and there was the gentle sound of an acoustic guitar alongside a harmonious woman's voice drifting from the stereo system; listening to loud music was all well and good but it most certainly wouldn't help his insomnia. *1

It happened so gradually, Vlad hardly noticed as he began to fall asleep but when he found himself standing before his father, he knew that he was dreaming.

* * *

_Vladislav Masters looked at least twenty years younger then he really was and Vlad was sure that he seemed taller as well. When he turned his head to see himself in the wall of mirrors in what he'd dubbed the man's 'torture room', in his mansion, it soon became apparent why that was. He saw himself as he had been when he was around fifteen years old, small with black hair and not nearly as muscled as he'd grow up to be._

_The makeshift gymnasium of his nightmares was accurate down to the last detail even down to the jagged nail sticking up from the old floorboards on which he'd more than once cut himself when he'd been thrown to the ground. What had made it worse was that Vladislav had known full well that it was there and he'd simply used it to his advantage._

_The wall to his left was made up almost entirely of floor length windows and along it stood a number of his father's employees, each of them laughing at him as Vladislav towered over him. It was strange that he could never actually remember seeing them laugh at him but for some reason, there they were, some doubled over with tears falling from their eyes and they could hardly catch their breath._

_"This isn't real," Vlad whispered to himself, taking a step back, away from his father. "It can't be real," he muttered._

_But it all seemed very real. He could feel the old floor creak under his feet, he could smell the summer breeze from the open windows and he could even smell Vladislav's odious cologne which he'd remember until his dying day._

_"It doesn't have to be real," Vladislav grinned, "Even in your mind, I'm stronger than you."_

_"It's not real," Vlad said again, moving backwards again. He suddenly felt the wall behind him which, logically he knew was impossible; he'd been in the middle of the room only a second ago and now he was trapped between the wall and his father. Surely, because he knew he was dreaming, he should be able to wake up, shouldn't he?_

_"There's no one to help you now, boy. No mother here to protect you. No uncle around to stop me...And no ghost powers to protect yourself," the man told him._

_"...Ghost powers..." Vlad breathed, "You...this is a dream, it must be! You don't know about...you can't possibly..."_

_"Can I not?"_

_"Of course not...it's impossible..." he shook his head watching in horror as his father pulled a gleaming sword from out of thin air. The blade gleamed as it moved, it was lethally sharp and menacing._

_Vlad tried to use his powers but nothing, absolutely nothing happened but it did appear to make the servants laugh even more, mocking him for his absent power. "No..." he whispered, glancing at his small palms which were devoid of ghostly ectoplasm._

_"Yes," Vladislav said, raising the sword into the air._

_Vlad had just enough time to swerve to the side, avoiding the blow but then he was swarmed upon by the servants who moved like a flock of birds. Each of them possessed the strength of ten Herculean men and he found it impossible to break free from their grasp. His arms and legs were held firm as he struggled in vain, forced to watch as his father took slow, agonising steps towards him, raising the sword again._

_"No!" he repeated, crying out in a voice which, though his own, he barely recognised._

_"Yes," Vladislav said again, coldly._

_This time, there was no escape. Vlad felt the cool metal of the sharpened blade slice down from his right shoulder blade to his stomach. He looked down, in shock, to see his blood begin to seep from the wound and stain his clothes the very second before he awoke_

* * *

He let out a loud, anguished cry and clutched at his chest as he struggled to sit up, expecting to feel the sting of the wound, but there was no blood, no pain and definitely, no wound. Apart from, of course, the one on his right arm which he'd managed to strain somehow and now was tingling painfully, but at least it wasn't bleeding again, he noticed.

At his feet, the dogs had been startled awake and now looked up at him, their large dark eyes almost seeming concerned. He reached out, tentatively, with his good arm and stoked the soft fur on Iskra's head for a moment before the hand returned to his right shoulder, his pale fingers clutching at the fabric of his red dressing gown for no reason other than fear.

There was still music playing and it did its best to help calm the frightened hybrid, this song, different from the other and yet very similar with a slow guitar tune and a melodic voice, helped more than his dynamic rock music. 2

In less than a minute, Vlad felt himself beginning to calm just as the door was flung wide open to admit a very concerned looking Danny. His eyes were all but glowing as he searched the room, evidently looking for signs of danger. When he found none, his expression turned from one of determination to embarrassment

"Erm..." the boy spoke, nervously. "I...thought I heard...something," he gave a sheepish smile. He was carrying a large sandwich on a plate which bed somehow managed to carry with him as he'd run towards the source of the noise. "I was getting a snack. I was hungry. I was up pretty late...ghost power practice, like you said I should...and I heard a noise..." he trailed off, not wanting to voice the fact that the noise he'd heard had been Vlad awaking from a nightmare.

"Really?" Vlad questioned with a light cough when he heard how strained his voice sounded. "And you thought...what? That it was an intruder? And you'd heroically come and do away with the villain by smashing a plate over his head?" he scoffed, trying to calm his quivering voice.

"Hey, I'm a superhero, remember," Danny shrugged, "If I have to be a hero...erm, with a plate...then so what?"

The older hybrid let out a disbelieving and shaky laugh which he probably would have refrained from doing were he still not so disturbed by his dream. "You don't look so good," he heard the boy remark as he walked over and Vlad scoffed again.

"I'm fine," Vlad told him, robotically, as he had done earlier. He realised that he was still running his fingers along his collar bone and his shoulder, looking for the none existent wound of his nightmare despite knowing that it wasn't going to magically appear. He stopped instantly when he saw that Danny was standing in front of him, staring at him.

"Oh, no, I'm not buying that again," the young hybrid announced, "And seriously, that's gotta be the worst lie you've ever told."

"...If I asked you to leave me alone...you'd ignore me, wouldn't you?" Vlad asked after a moment.

"Yep."

"What if I ordered you?"

"You really think that'd make a difference?" Danny asked. "You're talking to me, remember?" he remarked, sitting down on the floor by the fire after putting his plate on a chair, out of the dog's reach. He tore of a piece off his sandwich and then turned his attention back to Vlad.

"I could make you."

"Like you could've made me stop dragging you out into that snowball fight? Or make me stop asking questions about your projector thingy?" Danny did his best to imitate the elegant raise of an eyebrow which he'd so often seen Vlad do, but he got the feeling that his attempt looked more comical than anything else. "Y'know..." he began, "It's not like it's...I dunno...a sign of weakness or something...to have bad dreams. Everyone has 'em at some point."

"I don't have bad dreams," Vlad protested weakly.

"Uh-huh," Danny remarked in disbelief, trying not to sound like he was mocking the older hybrid. "Look...can we...change the music? This is kinda depressing," he said after a moment of listening to the sombre, almost melancholy

"So go and listen to your own music," the man snapped, "And leave me be."

"Okay, fine, no touching the music, I get it," he shrugged back and continued to devour his sandwich. He noticed that Vlad was examining the bandage around his wrist and he couldn't help but speak. "Y'know...I bet Frostbite or one of his people'd be able to help with that. They've got a whole hospital there...I know 'cos I kept throwing icicles at people when they were trying to teach me stuff...not on purpose."

"Hmmm," Vlad hummed, uninterestedly.

"...You listening?" Danny inquired.

"Of course...but I told you, there is no magic cure; I know, I've looked," the older hybrid replied.

"Maybe you missed it."

"I missed what a ghost yeti didn't. Please," Vlad scoffed.

"He's really smart, y'know."

"And I'm not?"

"I could ask him for you..." he offered.

"No."

"Just tryin'a help," Danny shrugged, "Hey, they might even have something' for your insomnia..."

"Enough about the Far Frozen yetis," Vlad snapped, "I really don't care."

"...Sorry," the boy muttered, doing his best not to shout or snap back. It took a lot of effort on his part, but he did it and he was quite proud.

But now that he had, he was left with two choices; he could leave Vlad alone or sit with in an awkward silence, not knowing what to say. There was only so much to say to a man clearly suffering from nightmares without sounding redundant or repeating himself. Besides, Vlad was older than he was, he'd probably heard everything that there was to say about it anyway.

"You may as well go back to bed," Vlad told him as though reading his mind.

"I'm fine," he shrugged back, taking another bite out of his sandwich.

"Suit yourself," the older hybrid replied.

"Y'know..." Danny began, "The first time I remember getting a nightmare was around Christmas time," he said conversationally. It wasn't perhaps the best topic he could have chosen, but at least it wasn't about Frostbite. "I don't remember how old I was...but I was just a kid. One of mom and dad's inventions brought the turkey to life and it attacked me and Jazz."

"It's late, Daniel, you really should be..."

"I had nightmares about it for years, I mean...a turkey came to life and tired to kill us! That's not normal and it's really not a normal thing to have bad dreams about either," Danny conducted, ignoring Vlad's poor attempt to dismiss him. "Mom said the best thing to do was to bring another one to life so she could fight in front of me and I could learn and dad said...I dunno, probably something about the big spinning table or the stupid Fenton stockades. What kind of family even has a stockades...or a big spinning table?!"

"I assume this charming little anecdote of yours actually has a point," the man droned.

"And then I got nightmares when I started high school 'cos on the first day I got beat up and it happens like every other day now, but I can deal with that. At least now I have ghost powers so I can get some pay back but for the first month or so I was really...jumpy. And they'd laugh about that too. I freaked out once when someone banged their locker closed too loud, I thought it was Dash coming to kill me or something. I had bad dreams about ghosts after the accident too, but it was weird 'cos those ones weren't as bad, I don't think. Well, not till I met you, anyway. I never told Jazz...or Sam or Tucker, but...you really scared me," Danny admitted.

"Why on earth are you telling me any of this?"

"Because I'm not scared anymore," the young hybrid answered. "You even told me yourself...you don't want me dead. And I get it, I do, really...I get why you fight me, I even get why you have nightmares 'cos I know what it's like to be scared. Real scared not just...scared of failing a test."

"This is Jasmine's doing, isn't it?" Vlad sighed. "You're making me into something I'm not, both of you. You can't forget that I'm a dangerous man just because it's more convenient to think otherwise."

"Then how come I'm still in one piece?" the boy sat up on his knees, staring Vlad in the eyes. "If you're so dangerous how come you don't just get rid of me? I'm glad Clockwork showed me all that stuff..."

"He had no right to do that," Vlad whispered, his voice low and menacing. "I don't care who he is or what he's done, the only person who can deal out the secrets of my life, is me!"

"I know, you're mad, but..."

Vlad laughed a deep and dangerous chuckle which stopped Danny from speaking, it was the laugh of the ghost that had threatened to murder his father. It was the laugh he'd heard in his nightmares and it was the laugh of a villain that Danny bad begun to see as separate from this new Vlad; the Vlad that would actually talk to him rather than fight him.

"You have no idea," Vlad told him. "You think you have nightmares...you think you know what it feels like to be afraid? I've spent years, years of my life trying to forget...and because your sister, the pseudo psychologist, thinks that talking is the solution to all of life's problems...you think you can sit here, dredging up my past, feeling sorry for me? If it wasn't for you and your friend Clockwork I wouldn't be ready to murder for a decent night's sleep," he said and Danny winced a little at his turn of phrase. "I wouldn't have worked my way through an entire case load of whiskey or started up this useless habit again!" Vlad yelled, taking out a half empty box of cigarettes from his dressing gown pocket and throwing it across the room.

The older hybrid leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees and placing his head in his hands, his lank hair trailing down over his shoulders and hiding his eyes. He attributed his outburst to a lack of sleep; he was well aware the sleep deprivation could cause mood swings, particularly, a shortened temper but he'd had no intention of being so truthful. All it took to unravel him was a lack of sleep, him, the all powerful Vlad Plasmius. It was pathetic. He could feel his eyes closing of their own accord and no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't keep them open.

Despite all of his power, money, influence and knowledge he was still, at least in part, human; he needed sleep to function. He needed peace of mind too and he didn't even have that, but Vlad wondered if he ever really had or whether it had simply been a lie he'd been telling himself for years. It was easier to believe the lie than it was to confront the truth; the truth that he had suffered as a child and was still suffering now. When he'd been hospitalised in college, it didn't take the doctors long to learn about his nightmares or the fact that he had panic attacks and likely some form of post traumatic stress. He'd been 'advised' to attend therapy but been given little choice to actually do so until he'd left the hospital and never looked back. Suffice to say that therapy had probably evolved a lot in two decades but it just saying the word left a sour taste in his mouth and a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. None of it had helped him and surely, burying the memories that caused him so much trouble was better than reliving them over and over again.

"You said smoking won't kill you," Danny pointed out and Vlad furrowed his brow, trying to think why on earth the boy had mentioned smoking.

"It doesn't mean I want to smoke," he said after a moment, once he caught up, his voice slightly muffled by his hands and hair, "I can't stand the smell," he admitted without thinking. He'd been able to refrain for saying it earlier, but now he was even more tired, he'd just let it slip before he could think not to.

"Really?" Danny frowned, remembering the glare he'd gotten when he'd opened the windows earlier.

"Hmmm," Vlad mumbled.

"Y'could've said that before," he grumbled. "So, if you don't like smoking...does that mean you don't really like drinking?" he asked, glancing at the glass bottle and tumbler on the coffee table. Vlad simply scoffed weakly in response and Danny nodded, "Didn't think so. Maybe you should eat something instead of drinking...whatever it is you've been drinking," he said.

"Not hungry," Vlad replied, childishly.

"Wow, that was real mature," Danny blinked and Vlad raised his head a little so that one tired, blue eye was free to stare at him in disapproval. Although he glared, Vlad said nothing as he leaned back, his head resting comfortably against the sofa.

Danny turned away after a moment, knowing that Vlad would be uncomfortable, even angry at been seen when he was vulnerable. It was strange for him to see, perhaps one of the most powerful ghosts he'd ever met, acting so human over a lack of sleep. He'd seen more than enough to convince him that Vlad was human in many respects rather than the tyrannical, unflappable being of his own nightmares, and that he had his weaknesses, sleep being one of them as it was for everyone else. People who went days without proper sleep ended up like the hybrid in front of him and he had no idea what to do. Danny wanted to help but he didn't think Vlad would appreciate being told to sleep with the light on, or with a ghost weapon to keep away the ecto-bed-bugs, as he'd so often been told as a child.

"Hey, Vlad, I..." he began, looking back across at the sofa, but he saw that the older hybrid had fallen asleep. It was no surprise that he'd done so, but it was a little worrying that it had taken less than a minute.

Vlad had gone from sitting upright against the back of the sofa to soundlessly lying across it, his head on a plush, red cushion and one hand tucked beneath it. His brow was furrowed even as he slept but he didn't seem to be having a bad dream, yet.

Danny didn't want to make a sound in case he woke Vlad but he also knew that as a child, he'd slept better after a nightmare not with a mock ghost weapon courtesy of his parents, but when his sister had stayed with him. Maybe Vlad wouldn't have a nightmare if he stayed or at least if he did, Danny would be able to wake him up. So, he dragged a selection of cushions and a blanket onto the floor as quietly as he could, then settled into them and it was surprisingly comfortable considering he was on the floor.

* * *

A.N. Happy days, the review problem seems to be fixed now.

* * *

*1 &amp; *2 The first song I imagine playing in the background is 'When you walk on', by Eliza Gilkyson and the second is 'Hardly speaking a word, by Lori McKenna. I heard both while watching 'Case Studies' and I just had to use them in here somehow. That show really did have a great soundtrack.


	29. Who Done It

**Different Effects of the Past**

**Chapter 28: Who Done It**

* * *

With the thick, black out curtains closed, Danny had no idea what time it was when he awoke, lying on the floor amidst a comfortable fort of cushions and a warm blanket. It took a moment for him to emerge from his cocoon of sleep as he rubbed his tired eyes and yawned deeply, before he looked around the room to see that he was alone. Well, he was alone aside from the two dogs that were happily dozing around him.

Without disturbing them, he floated silently up through the castle to his bedroom only to fly straight through the Dairy King. When ghosts flew through an object, it was an odd sensation, but when ghosts flew through other ghosts it was even more unnerving and Danny shivered for a moment before he looked around his room. It was unnecessary since he hadn't even opened the door to enter, but it was done out of habit.

"Erm...hey," he gave a small, uneasy smile. "Is...is something wrong?" he asked. Having been in the castle for over a week and not having seen the ghost even once had given him the strong impression that the Dairy King stayed out of everyone's way, especially Vlad's, but he supposed that the older hybrid preferred it that way.

"There...there might be a problem, there..." the ghost replied slowly.

"What kinda problem?"

"I...well...it's complicated..."

"Okay, then...just erm, start simple, I guess," Danny suggested, uncertainly.

"I don't...I don't want Plasmius to be getting angry."

"Why would he get angry?"

"There was a woman in...in the room..."

"...I don't get it," the hybrid shook his head in confusion.

"In the room with all my things in it."

"You have a room?" Danny asked, incredulously.

* * *

"The chef?!" Vlad exclaimed angrily, his eyes flashing blood red as he stared at the floating blue hologram.

"Yes," ANII replied emotionlessly

"And you've known this for at least a day?!"

"Yes," she repeated. "More specifically, I discovered it at 11:56 pm last night," she said.

"Why didn't you tell me then?!"

"You were asleep, sir. My data indicates that you are still suffering from sleep deprivation, but less so now. It would not have been advantageous for me to have disrupted your much needed rest by telling you this last night."

"I didn't program you to be my nurse, my health is of no concern to you. Your job is to provide me with information and you failed!"

"As you say, sir. I apologise."

"Argh!" Vlad grumbled angrily to himself. "And you're sure that none of the others have any connection to my father?"

"None."

"Fine. Call them all back."

"Including the chef?"

"Including the chef," he repeated ominously.

* * *

_Jacob Roberts, also known as Vlad Masters' chef had actually had a rather difficult life. His parents had been neglectful when they had been around, that is when they hadn't been in prison and it hasn't taken him long to begin to follow in their footsteps. The one constructive outlet for him had been his cooking for which his parents had ridiculed him on more than one occasion. In a childish attempt to prove that he had it in him to be like them, despite the fact that he knew it was wrong, he and several of his friends had tried, and failed to rob a jewellery store. After being released from prison with a vow to start a new life for himself he tried to get a job, and failed. Until one cold, winters' night on the streets of downtown Wisconsin._

_"You botched the job, Jake," he heard a grim voice say as he was roughly awoken from his sleep. He'd been lying on the ground, wrapped in whatever blankets and rags he'd been able to find when two men from his old gang found him. And they'd been none too happy that his failed robbery had landed him in prison. He'd been their errand boy for many years and he was useless in prison. Now he'd have to pay the price for his failure._

_"I..." he said, shivering._

_"So now...we're here to botch you," the second man grinned._

_"Y'know you couldn't hide forever," the first said. And he'd been right, he had known that. But he wasn't powerless. Jacob knew how to defend himself but there was two of them and only one of him him; it would be difficult._

_He hadn't known at the time that he was being watched by a pair of blue eyes from the shadows as he began to fight. He pulled out a knife from his pocket and with some difficultly, he was able to overpower the other men, falling to the ground, breathing hard. He was battered, bruised and bleeding, but he was alive and he'd be able to make his escape before they recovered if he was lucky._

_"Well done," a deep voice spoke and Jacob sprang to his feet at once. "I certainly wasn't expecting that," the man had said, sounding amused._

_"You looking to join them?" Jacob hissed back._

_"No, as a matter of fact, I was hoping that you would join me."_

_"...What?"_

_"I have a rather large home and I need people to work in it."_

_"...And you want me? Really?"_

_"Well, we'll see, shall we? Before I offer you a job I suppose I should give you an interview? I have just a short list of qualifications you need to fulfil. I know you can fight, so that won't be a problem..."_

_"Why would I need to know how to fight?"_

_"I'm a dangerous man, I have enemies. If they retaliate I don't intend to be concerned about my staff, so I expect all of them to be able to take care of themselves should they need to," Vlad replied._

_"You know I've been in prison, right?" Jacob scoffed, "No one wants to hire an ex-con."_

_"The second point," Vlad continued, ignoring the younger man's comment. "Do you have a family?" he asked._

_"...I guess so," he shrugged._

_"A close knit family?"_

_"No."_

_"Would you care if you never saw them again?"_

_"...No," he answered honestly after a moment. It was their fault he had been landed with the label of 'ex-con. Trying to be like them and following their example and left him penniless and alone on the streets._

_"Excellent."_

"_Wait just a minute...I don't even know who you..."_

_"What else can you do? Besides fight, I mean?" Vlad asked, his intense stare leaving Jacob with little choice but to answer._

_"I...I like to cook, but I still don't..." _

_"Marvellous, I need a good chef," he gave a triumphant grin. "Follow me," he said, turning around._

_"You think I'm just gonna follow you?" Jacob scoffed, "I'm not an idiot."_

_"You're afraid?"_

_"No. Just not an idiot," he reiterated._

_"Well, I'd say you're a little of both," Vlad said, turning back to face Jacob. He brought up his gloved hand and in it, he held a gun. "I took this from one of your friends right before he was about to shoot you in the head. Never bring a knife to a gun fight," he said, dropping the gun to the ground._

_"H...how did you..."_

_"There were two more men and right now they're taking a nap just over there...you can check if you'd like," he smiled, gesturing with a slight movement of his head to the grimy dumpster to his right._

_With a disbelieving scoff, Jacob moved, never taking his eyes off the strange man, so that he was standing beside the dumpster and when he saw the sleeping forms of two of the streets' toughest fighters for hire he took a shaky step back. This rich looking, pompous man had easily dealt with them without even a hair out of place. He'd left the two weaker fighters for him to deal with himself. How was it possible?_

_"How?" he asked once he was able to speak._

_"If I'd wanted to hurt you too, I'd have already done it. Now, follow me," Vlad said, walking off. *1_

* * *

An hour or so later, Vlad was standing across from Jacob in the foyer who couldn't look him in the eye. He was ashamed of what he'd done and Vlad knew it, but he didn't care, he was angry and all of his staff knew that it was a bad idea to make their employer angry.

"You remember that night, don't you?" Vlad asked, standing right in front of him.

"How could I forget?" Jacob sighed. "You saved my life, sir."

"You'd have gotten a bullet in the head if it wasn't for me."

"I know."

"My father wouldn't have saved you. He'd have watched you die and then hired the man who killed you as a reward. That's the man you'd rather work for?"

"Please...let me explain..."

"You betrayed me, Jacob, and worst of all, you betrayed me to my own father!" Vlad hissed, shoving the man back a good few paces in his anger.

"Sir..." Jacob frowned, making no move to retaliate as he recovered his balance.

"Was it for money? Didn't I pay you enough? Did he promise you more?"

"I..."

"Did he blackmail you? Is that it?"

"...I just..."

"I'll give you one chance, and you'd better make it count...you know what happens to the people who betray me. I warned you."

"I know you did sir...I know...I don't expect you to forgive me for what I did, but my parents...they're both sick..." Jacob breathed. "You pay us a lot...I know that...but their medical bills were so much...I just...I needed the money to pay it...and he offered. I didn't want to take it at first, I swear I didn't, but..."

"Why didn't you tell me then? You could have at least said that my father had taken an interest in you. I'm hardly the most generous man on the planet, but he makes me look like a saint!"

"I know, sir. But one of your conditions when you first gave me the job...you said...you asked me if I'd be happy to never see my family again and I didn't lie. I don't ever want to see them again...but they're still my family. I couldn't just do nothing. I thought it'd be best if I didn't ask you. I didn't know he was going to make me tell him things about you, if I'd known that I never would've done it. At first it was just one little thing every few months and before I knew it, I..."

"That's enough," Vlad stood and Jacob took a deep breath. "You did this...you betrayed me to save your parents? Two people who couldn't care less about you?"

"...They're still my family," he reiterated sadly.

"They don't care about you!" Vlad shouted, "They've done nothing to earn your loyalty, I thought you knew that!"

"They don't have to...they should but...they don't...it doesn't matter what they've done...they're still my family."

Vlad suddenly felt the worst of his anger and fury dissipate at hearing this confession to be replaced with utter bewilderment. In part, he'd seen himself in Jacob and he'd grown rather fond of the talented chef over the years. He didn't really make a habit of getting involved socially with his employees and he tended to let them get on with their jobs. Jacob was no different really but he'd been the one that Vlad had seen himself in the most. The people he employed were loners anyway like him who he'd found when they'd fallen on hard times so it was an arrangement that worked well. None had ever betrayed him though. He was used to being stabbed in the back in the business world, but not in his own home like this.

"And what I did counts for nothing?" Vlad demanded.

"No, what you did means everything. I'm grateful for what you did..."

"And this is how you show it."

"I'm sorry...I..."

"Get out," he ordered in a a quiet, menacing voice.

"Sir?"

"You heard me; get out. Go and take your chances with my father, I'd you're lucky, he might give you another job as a spy since you were so useful to him," Vlad hissed.

"...I don't think I'll do that," Jacob replied after a moment, "He won't pay the hospital bills now I can't tell him anything..."

"I don't care. Go work for him or go back to your old life, either one...just get out of my sight."

Jacob nodded slowly, he'd expected anger and violence and he'd been surprised by his employers' relatively calm demeanour. He didn't want to leave but he knew he had no choice. He deserved far worse, he thought.

"...I'm sorry, sir," he said again before he left.

When the door closed behind him, Vlad let out a deep sigh. He'd known that his mother and cousin had been listening and that they were standing in the doorway to the sitting room.

"You heard?" he asked without looking at them.

"Every word," Rosalyn answered him.

"He did it to save his parents," Valya said sadly.

"I don't care about his reasons," he replied pedantically. "The point is, he double crossed me. I should've done far worse than simply firing him."

"Like what?" his cousin asked.

Vlad didn't answer her, he thought it best not to, instead, he strode away, heading for the garage. He needed to leave the castle.

* * *

"What am I supposed to do about it?!" Danny cried, staring across at the Dairy King.

They were both floating in his locked room of refrigerated dairy products and the young hybrid was holding the signed note left by Plasmius in his right hand. "Why don't you just tell Vlad?!" It had taken him a minute to get over the hilarity of Vlad having to give up a room in his prized castle to the Dairy King, but that had quickly faded once the ghost had explained his 'problem.'

"Oh, no, I can't be doing that," the ghost told him, shaking his head, frantically.

"So why tell me?"

"You won't be 'blasting me into oblivion', there," he said, in a poor attempt at mimicking Vlad's voice.

"...Right...he'll just be 'blasting me into oblivion'," Danny face-palmed, "Just great. Y'know, if I die...for real this time, and if I come back as a ghost...again...you're the first one I'm coming after."

"Oh my..." the ghost shivered and flew away.

Danny sighed and put the note back on one of the tables before he too left the room, floating slowly, and invisibly through the walls and rooms until he found himself in the sitting room. Just as he was about to change back, he heard quiet voices and he couldn't help but overhear them.

* * *

"Where're you going?" Danny asked a few minutes later just as Vlad was jamming the keys into the ignition of his favourite black convertible. He'd just finished lowering the roof when he sensed the younger hybrid nearing him.

"You're following me now?" Vlad blinked over at him.

"No...but I may've heard your mom and your cousin talking upstairs...maybe...This is a really nice car by the way," he added when he took a look at the shiny black car. Without another word, he opened the passenger side door and sat down, running his hand over the dashboard. "How much is a car like this? I know I don't really need one but I wanna learn to drive a car like this."

"Get out of the car, Daniel."

"They said you found the spy, right?"

"...I did."

"The cook?"

"Yes."

"And he did it for his mom and dad?"

"He did."

"But you still fired him?"

"Of course. What he did gave my father an advantage, it was the worst kind of betrayal. He's lucky I let him walk out of here alive," he said, gripping the steering wheel.

"So...where were you going?"

"You think I changed my mind? That I was going to find him and kill him?"

"Don't know...were you?" Danny asked him.

"Sadly, no," the older hybrid answered.

"You don't seem very...angry..."

"Who says I'm not?"

"You just...you don't look it."

"I'm furious," Vlad told him, staring the engine. "Are you getting out or not?" he asked.

"Nope," Danny answered instantly.

"Fine," the older hybrid shrugged, right before the car sped out of the garage and onto the driveway.

"Whoa!" he helped in surprise, clutching the seat.

* * *

When Vlad parked the car outside of what Danny assumed to be an expensive looking café, he was a little surprised. "What're we doing here?" he asked.

"I'm hungry," Vlad answered simply, "And I have no chef at the moment, remember?"

"What? You can't cook?"

"Why should I have to?" he countered, getting out of the car.

At such a typical response, Danny said nothing as he watched Vlad gently flex the fingers on his wounded arm; driving must have put uncomfortable pressure on his still bandaged hand, wrist and, he guessed, forearm. He supposed that it would probably make cooking difficult too, though not entirely impossible, especially with the help of ghost powers.

"Your mom can cook," he pointed out.

"I'm not a child," Vlad scoffed, "And my mother is a guest in my house, not an employee."

Danny shrugged in silent acknowledgment, following Vlad's lead out of the car and taking one last longing look at the vehicle. "I really want this car," he declared, as Vlad began to walk away.

"Well, just think, when I'm dead you can buy all the cars you want," Vlad replied, dryly.

"Cheery thought."

"It is for you, isn't it?" he asked, genuinely.

* * *

The café had a very modern interior with three of the four walls being made of windows and sliding doors. There were hanging lights from the ceiling snaked with industrial pipe work, curious art work dotted around the large room and plants as well. It was a light, open space despite the fact that the decor was mostly brown and black.

Danny was surprised when they entered, although the place looked relatively expensive, it didn't especially seem like the type of place that Vlad would visit. He'd expected a posh, five star restaurant, not a regular cafè where people brought their children or where students were studying. What he didn't know was that Vlad himself had come here often when he was a student himself. It looked different now of course, but when he'd been studying, the owner of the cafè had often given him food in return for his technical skills when it came to broken kitchen equipment.

Vlad wasted little time in ordering food and drinks while Danny sat at a table, muttering to himself at his phone. When Vlad eventually sat oppose him with a cappuccino in hand he watched, first in amusement and then in annoyance.

"Stupid...slow...phone..." Danny muttered, waiting for the Internet to load on his phone. It always took a long time, usually when it eventually loaded he either forgot why he wanted it in the first place or he just got bored waiting.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh...the erm, the Internet, it's slow on my phone, always is," he explained to a confused looking Vlad.

"Ah," the man nodded, taking a sip of his coffee before putting it back onto the table. He took out his own phone, a new, slim, touch screen model, unlocked it and handed it to the younger hybrid. "Here," he said.

"...Thanks," Danny said in surprise. "Whoa, super fast..cool," he muttered.

"Checking up on our favourite backwater city, are we?" Vlad asked a second later.

"Yeah, I...wait...how'd you know that?" the boy furrowed his brow, looking up at the older hybrid. He suddenly glanced behind him, expecting to find a duplicate but he really shouldn't have been surprised to see that there wasn't one there. They were in a public place and Vlad was hardly likely to use his powers in a café just to read a news article.

"There's a very well polished coffee machine behind you," he was informed.

"That's like...all the way over there," Danny said, spinning around to glance back.

The shiny, metal, industrial coffee machine was at least ten metres away from them across the room at the counter and he'd only had the news report on the screen for a second or so before Vlad had read it.

"Yes?"

"Heh..." Danny breathed a scoff of disbelief through his nose, staring at Vlad who simply and calmly drank his coffee. "Erm...I...yeah, Amity Park...it was half destroyed, remember? I just like to know how things're going, that's all," he explained, looking back at the news report.

"And?"

"And...it's starting to rebuild...but it looks like it's gonna cost a fortune and Amity doesn't have a fortune. But it's not like it's never been totalled by ghosts before so no one really seems surprised," he read.

"What's surprising is that even after so many times, people are still so blasé about it," Vlad scoffed.

"Meh," the boy shrugged. "Y'get used it, I guess," he said, giving Vlad his phone back.

After a moment, Danny began to fear that there was some thing wrong with him, he could hear a very faint noise, a distant ringing and it sounded vaguely familiar. He started to rub at his ear, looking around as though somehow, something would jump out as him to explain where it was coming from.

"And what are you doing now?" Vlad asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I can hear a...a ringing noise...it's really annoying," Danny grumbled. "Can you hear it?" he asked.

"No," the man answered, smoothly.

"Gah, it's driving me crazy! Are you sure you can't..."

"I don't hear anything," Vlad reiterated.

"I think it's...it's kinda sounds like a...a car alarm, maybe," Danny muttered.

"Perhaps you're developing tinnitus," the older hybrid suggested, dryly.

"I don't even know what that is."

"You hear a constant ringing noise when you've damaged your ear," he explained.

"It's not 'damaged'..."

"Well, how would you know?"

"...And it's not constant, it's only just started," Danny said, gritting his teeth. "Y'know...I think it is an alarm...I think it's a store alarm. I think someone's being robbed," he muttered, suddenly realising why he knew that sound. He'd heard it before in Amity Park, he'd stopped several robberies before but this one had to be quite far away. "You can hear it, can't you?" the young hybrid grumbled to Vlad. Vlad's hearing was far getter than his own, so he had to be lying.

"Ignore it," Vlad answered, calmly, "It'll stop."

"Yeah, when it's too late," he jumped up from his seat and took a step around the table.

Vlad grabbed his arm before he could get very far, ignoring the fact that the sudden movement and pressure was causing him pain because he'd used his right hand. "Where do you think you're going?" he demanded.

"Duh?! To stop the..." Danny suddenly looked around, realising that there were other people, and he lowered his voice before speaking again. "I'm gonna stop the robbery," he whispered.

"Why?" Vlad furrowed his brow. "Crimes happen every second of every day; you can't stop every single one. And besides, this isn't Amity Park, people here aren't used to seeing ghosts flying through the streets."

"I don't care, I have to do something," the boy protested and he forcibly shook his arm free of the older hybrid's grip. "Sorry..." he muttered when he saw Vlad's expression of agony. "Look, I don't have time for this, I need to go now. We can talk about my stupid hero complex when I get back, okay?"

"Fine, fine, do what you want. Just make sure you're not seen, am I clear?" Vlad hissed, gently flexing his aching hand.

"Totally," Danny nodded before running away, undoubtedly to find the bathroom and make his escape.

* * *

In the few minutes that Danny was gone, Vlad had very calmly began to eat the food that he'd ordered as he listened to the robbery. He heard the alarm stop and he heard Danny use his powers to stop the robbers but he never heard anyone scream 'ghost' so the boy must have at least heeded his warning if nothing else.

"I take it, you were successful?" Vlad asked him, sarcastically, when he returned.

"Yep," Danny smiled triumphantly and fell into his chair, instantly eyeing the food on his plate.

"Were you seen?"

"Nope, I was invisible the whole time," he said with a mouthful of food.

"Splendid," the man rolled his eyes and picked up a newspaper from the table.

"So, let's hear it, then," the boy took a deep inhale before he leant forwards. "I'm irresponsible, I have a really dumb hero complex, I'm an idiot for trying to do the right thing...yadda, yadda, yadda."

"If you already have a list memorised, I certainly don't need to say it, do I?"

"No," Danny shrugged.

"But you are an idiot," Vlad said.

"Hey!"

"You can barely hear an alarm from ten blocks away and even then you couldn't just leave it be. If you had my hearing, you'd have gone mad in the first week. At least I didn't feel the need to leap into action every time an alarm went off," Vlad scoffed. When his hearing had improved, he'd still been living in his run down apartment in a less than savoury neighbourhood where alarms were triggered at least twice a day, let alone at night.

"I can't just ignore it."

"You'd better start learning how; these things only improve with time," Vlad said with confidence.

"I don't know how to," Danny reiterated, "It wouldn't be right to not do something about it when I know I can help."

"The police managed to do their jobs before you started interfering," the older hybrid pointed out.

"Yeah, but..."

"And you can't be everywhere at once. What are you going to do when you go to college? You can't skip lectures simply because you needed to 'help' someone in need."

"I don't even know if I'll get into college," Danny muttered, "My grades are...pretty bad, right now."

"And whose fault is that?"

"It's mine, I know that."

"Then do something about it."

"I've tried, but it's really hard to study and fight ghosts and stop crime and..."

"You're fifteen. You don't need to fight ghosts or crime," Vlad scoffed.

"Says my arch enemy," Danny said.

"Is that what you want to do for the rest of your life; literally, every second of every day spent waiting for the next crime to be stopped or the next ghost to be caught?"

Even after just a split second, Danny knew that the answer was a resounding 'no.' He didn't want to spend every second of his entire life fighting ghosts and stopping crime. He knew he'd never stop fighting either one, but he wanted a life outside of that as well and right now he barely had time for it; he barely had time for sleep let alone a social life.

"...Well, what about you?" Danny countered.

"What about me?" Vlad frowned, taken aback by the question.

"D'you wanna spend the rest of your life fighting me and...trying to...hurt dad?" he asked quietly, so they wouldn't be overheard.

"...That's an entirely different matter," the man said evasively, shaking his head.

"No it isn't."

"Of course it is," Vlad snapped.

"No, it isn't," Danny repeated, emphatically.

"I have a life that isn't held back by what I am," he said, thinking only of Danny's situation.

It was true, Vlad's life wasn't hindered by his powers, it was enhanced by them. He'd made money from his powers, his senses were highly attuned and he was in complete control of them now. He didn't waste his time by stopping crimes that happened every day and ghosts never attacked Wisconsin, mainly because there was very little to draw their attention but also because they feared what Vlad would do if they did. Other things held him back, but not his powers.

"That's not what I asked," Danny sighed.

"It's the only answer you're getting."

"That's not fair."

"Neither is life," Vlad gave him a smug smirk which only made him snort in frustration.

"...Guess not," Danny said, "I mean, it was very fair to your cook, was it?"

"What about his life was unfair? He had nothing when I found him, I gave him a chance and he threw it back in my face. That's all there is to it, if anything it was unfair to me. Now I have to find another chef," Vlad bemoaned.

"It's not like that'll you take very long. Anyway, he just lost his job and now how's he meant to pay their bills? I don't know much about him but he seemed nice and he only did it to help his parents. You can't blame a person for that."

"Watch me," he replied, petulantly as he turned a page in his newspaper with dramatic force.

"Now you're being unfair."

"Yes, I am."

"Gah, and you're annoying," Danny huffed, crossing his arms and slouching back. "I'd have probably done the same thing he did," he admitted after a moment.

"You'd never be left in that situation," Vlad said.

"Says who?"

"His parents were notorious criminals, he had to help them because no one else would. I found him on the streets because they'd abandoned him after he was released from prison. They were well and truly hated, even he hated them. Your parents might annoy people, but I doubt that they're genuinely hated."

"...Oh," Danny muttered. "But...they're still his family," he said.

"So what? What did they ever do for him to warrant his generosity? Nothing. You could tell them to their faces and they wouldn't care; people like that never do. Nothing is ever good enough for them, so why bother?"

Danny shuffled in his seat, nervously as Vlad's temper seemed to rise and he knew why. The older hybrid had clearly seen similarities in the chef's parents and his own father. "...We're erm...still talking about his parents...right?" he asked, nervously.

"Who else would I be talking about?" Vlad snapped.

"...Err...no one...sorry."

Despite his sudden anger, Vlad knew exactly what Danny had meant and he cursed himself for being so transparent to such a clueless teenager. But while his movies were clear to Danny, so we're Danny's motives to him. The boy wanted him to forgive Jacob, or at the very least, he supposed, give him back his job.

"You want me to let him off the hook, don't you?" Vlad sighed, lowering his newspaper which he hadn't actually been reading for a while now.

"...Yeah."

"Give me one good reason why I should," he challenged, "Just one good, valid, convincing argument and I'll give him back his job."

"Really? You promise?"

"Cross my ectoplasmic infected heart," Vlad said, solemnly.

"Heh," Danny laughed. "Okay...erm...because..." he began, thinking deeply. "Because it's...it's the right thing to do..." he tried, but sighed when Vlad lost all interest and looked away. "Because...your dad won't like it," he tried again quickly and this time, Vlad blinked his attention back to him. "Yeah, erm...I guess he knew you'd find out eventually, right? So, if you pretend you're not mad, then..."

"He'll go apoplectic," Vlad muttered, happily.

"Erm...what?" Danny asked, confused.

"Well, done Daniel," the older hybrid simply replied.

* * *

*1 No way in hell can I imagine Vlad using conventional methods to hire his staff, at least the ones who work in his immediate vicinity.


End file.
